Finally Found You
by Alis-May
Summary: He lost her. After a few years of being closed up he's finally found her. Problem solved...right?
1. Reaping Day

Disclaimer: _Obviously_ I don't own THG or else I wouldn't be here.

* * *

"I volunteer." Cato said firmly and strode forth onto the stage earning a sad glance from his best friend in the crowd. It was finally his year and no one was going to take this victory from him not even—

"I volunteer."

Clove? What? No!

He looked at her as she walked up the stairs; her face was void of all emotion. She wouldn't meet his stare. Cato bit his lip, he had told her his plan many times and she had picked this year out of her two remaining to volunteer. He exhaled sharply and folded his arms across his chest. A glare set on his young handsome face.

Clove rolled her eyes at his stance, and groaned internally at the argument that was bound to happen once they were alone.

"Boys." She scoffed as they were escorted into the justice building for their goodbyes.

As Clove sat waiting for her visitors, her head snapped up and was suddenly surprised when the door opened to reveal a very angry and frowning Cato. He walked in and stood in front of her visibly fuming.

She sighed and stood up too, rearranging her dress appropriately. "Lay it on me."

"What the hell Clove? Do you know what this means? I thought we discussed this already! We agreed that I would be doing this alone. What—" Cato started, but Clove cut him off.

"I know what this would mean Cato, I'm not stupid." She said evenly, raising her chin defiantly.

"Are you sure you're not? What part of _my_ _year _did you not understand?" Cato tried being calm with her but he couldn't see why she was being so difficult.

"I understood all of it."

"Then why—" Cato ran his hand through his hair.

She cut him off again, "Just let me help you!"

Apparently her reasoning fell on short ears when Cato's eyes flashed dangerously, "Who's going to help _you_? I won't lose you Clove…"

"I can take care of myself and you don't have a choice. There's nothing left for me in District 2 and you know it! You're all I've got now." She retorted, "and besides, I already knew that I was born to die. I'm ready for it. I've _been_ ready…"

"Alright, alright. Fine." Cato said exasperated.

He didn't argue anymore. He realized that there was no point when Clove had her mind set on something. She was possibly almost as stubborn as he was. He sighed and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you." Cato said softly, blue eyes meeting green.

Clove smiled. This gesture was Cato's way of hugging now, since he wasn't so comfortable with physical contact anymore unless his intention was violence. He's been closed off ever since—her thought process was interrupted when a peacekeeper found out that Cato was in her room.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in there." the peacekeeper said gruffly and grabbed Cato's shoulder to pull him out the door, but Cato shrugged him off and managed to twist the man's arm behind his back.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me." He spat at the guard and released him, causing him to fall against the door. Cato rolled his shoulders back and walked out leaving the peacekeeper to nurse his wounded pride.

Clove shook her head and raised her eye brows incredulously at her short tempered best friend. Just then her parents walked in and saw the peacekeeper massaging his now bruised wrist. Her father's eyebrows furrowed.

"Clove—" He said slowly.

"It wasn't me." She shrugged.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a woman asked.

"Yes, mom I'm sure. I have to." Cato said quietly.

"But do you really?" she asked again more desperately. Unlike most parents, she believed that there was no such thing as bringing honor to the district and she tried her best to instill that belief onto her children. She knew that Cato was not volunteering for that reason though, what he was volunteering for was something entirely different.

"Mom…you know why I have to do this." He said reassuringly, and moved to hug her.

"Su just let the boy go. Your lack of faith in your son is insulting." Cato's father rolled his eyes.

Susan turned to glare at her husband, "Well your arrogance could be the death of him Caspian! How can you be so sure?"

"How can you not? Do you not believe that he'll win?" He asked gesturing to his son.

"I do! I'm just worried that—"

Cato sighed, "Enough. I'm going and coming back a victor. No need to worry Mom, _I can do this._" He understood where his mom was coming from; he had heard the same phrase and felt the same worry when—no. Now was not the time for that, he had to be strong for his parents, for Clove, and his little sister Cassandra. She was 10 years old as of now and still had some time before she was eligible to be reaped but she understood the games.

He walked over to where she was silently watching the heated debate. Cato crouched down so that he was now looking up to her and offered a small smile.

"What do you think about all of this Cas?" He said gently holding her small hands in his. Cato wanted her to have an opinion too. Cassandra was probably the only person he was really close to nowadays other than Clove.

"I think..." She bit her lip, "I think I'm going to miss you." Her eyes dropped to their hands.

"Hey, I'm coming back. I'll be gone for a week tops." He offered her a lopsided grin.

She looked back up at him smiling, "Promise?" she whispered sticking up her pinky.

Cato wrapped his larger pinky around hers, "I promise Cassie." He whispered back firmly and kissed her on the forehead.

"Alright your five minutes are up." The peacekeeper said interrupting them, and held the door open.

Cato stood up and hugged his mother again and received a pat on the shoulder from his dad before they started for the door. At the last second, Cassie ran back and hugged him before following her parents out of the door again.

He only had a few minutes to regain his composure before his second visitor walked in. A flash or recognition lit up his eyes when he saw who it was.

"Kane." He nodded in greeting.

"Hey Cato." The fourteen year old replied.

"It's been a while kid." Cato said with a strained voice. He looked so much like her, so much that he could've been her twin. Same colored eyes and hair, everything, the same.

"Yeah, well." Kane said nervously and scratched the back of his neck, "I just wanted to say good luck on behalf of my family."

Cato nodded in thanks. "Oh I almost forgot," the boy realized and reached into his pocket pulling out something, "for you." he extended his fist out and dropped whatever he was holding onto Cato's outstretched hand. It was a gold mockingjay pin.

"She would've wanted you to have that as your district token." Kane said quietly. Cato's jaw clenched at the sudden impact of emotions that he was trying to hold in. His grip tightened around the district token and he swallowed the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him.

"Thank you." He held his other hand out and the younger boy shook it firmly and left.

* * *

"Come along now you two, we don't want to be late." The escort said waiting by the train. Cato and Clove had just walked out of the justice building when Clove stopped by the exit.

Cato turned around furrowing his eyebrows at her hesitation. _What's wrong?_

She simply let out a shaky breath. _Nerves are getting to me. _

He squeezed her shoulder lightly, a reassurance. _I'm right here. _

Clove nodded in response and they both proceeded to board the train, Cato glancing at the escort's four-inch platform shoes as they walked in. He swore things would break if they had tried putting him into shoes like that.

_Only a man from the Capitol would have the balls to wear those in public, _he thought.

* * *

A/N: The story is going to be Cato-centric for a bit before Katniss comes in and joins the mix, but I'll have flashbacks to fulfill your Catoniss needs until she shows up. To clarify there will be no Clato in this other than friendship and sibling-like affection. This happens to be my first story on Fanfiction so constructive criticism is welcome.

Til' next time.

~Alis-May


	2. Ride to the Capitol

"Put that down before you damage anything!" the escort's shrill voice rang out. Clove was playing with some knives that she found in the dining cart.

"Well there's nothing to do on this train. No training, no dummies…unless you'd like to volunteer?" She said slowly looking up from her hands to smile evilly at the strange man. He gulped but remained in the room.

"All you tributes from this district are the same. Why there's still a cut in the mahogany table from where a tribute stabbed it out of 'boredom'." He lifted the placemat to reveal a slit in the dark wood.

Clove smirked and went back to playing with her knives. Cato rolled his eyes and leaned his back on the couch that he was sitting on. It was only about a four hour trip to the Capitol and so far it had only been twenty minutes. He was dying. _Was this how it was like for her?_ He wondered. At least he had Clove; the tribute she had been with was a jerk that he remembered beating up when they were younger. The boy challenged him to a sword match and naturally Cato won of course, but it didn't matter now that he was dead along with—he swallowed.

"I'll be in my room." Cato said standing up and looked at Clove, she simply give him a curt nod before she resumed throwing knives at the wall creating patterns.

He loosened his shirt and rolled his sleeves into cuffs up to his forearm as he walked in. The room was small but that was expected, it was a train after all. He went straight to the bathroom sink to wash his face. He hoped by doing this it would clear his mind and all of the painful memories that started bubbling up all of a sudden. Cato wiped his face and leaned on the sink staring at his reflection, his blue eyes meeting blue.

"Remember why you're doing this Cato, you can do this." He said to himself and left to go lay on the available bed, it was much comfier than the couch in the other cart. He soon drifted off to sleep.

"_Alright! Alright! You got me!" Katniss grumbled. She had tried sneaking up on Cato so she could tackle him but it backfired when he anticipated it. He had turned around and pinned her down instead. Cato laughed and leaned down to kiss her nose from above, since he was still straddling her._

"_Would it kill you to not pay attention for once?" Katniss huffed and poked his cheek. _

_Cato simply smiled, "Yes, it would actually…" he chuckled when she rolled her eyes at his smart remark._

"_Hilarious." She said icily and pushed him off to stand up. Cato stood and extended his hand to help her up. Katniss wasted no time grabbing his hand and using it as leverage to haul herself onto his back. She laughed and kissed his cheek. Luckily she decided to wear leggings under her dress or else it would be impossible for her to have a piggy back ride. He stopped in front of the boy's locker room and gently let her down. She readjusted her dress before wrapping her arms around his neck. _

_He'd gotten so tall. She still remembered long ago when they were younger, they were the same height. But now, with him standing at 6'2 she had to stand on her tiptoes just to get past his nose. Katniss herself was tall for her age, towering over about half the girls in the Academy. That alone left her with many envious girls, mainly because she still had curves even with her long limbs instead of being lanky._

_Cato grinned and licked his lips. One hand went around her waist to the small of her back while the other gently tucked in a stray strand of curly brown hair behind her ear. Katniss closed her eyes as his hand continued to stroke through her locks to rest at the back of her neck. She could feel his grip on her hair tighten gently as he angled her head back, fully knowing what was to come next. Cato leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. A soft chaste kiss that gave Katniss butterflies. Every. Single. Time. She uncurled her fingers from the blonde hair on the back of his head letting her hands trail down his shoulders, over the hard plains of chest to wrap around his lower waist._

_He gave his famous heartbreaking smile, "Wait here," he said quietly breaking the silence, "give me ten minutes." Katniss nodded in response and he kissed her cheek quickly then retreated to the locker room. She smiled to herself._

_Katniss felt lucky to have someone like Cato, although she could do without the glares from the female population. The male attention she got would probably be worse if it weren't for Cato's habit of being overprotective and intimidating. But that came with being the best tributes in the entire Academy. Intimidating. She had her fair share of possessiveness as well. She once broke all the fingers of a girl's hand because she claimed to have "accidentally" lift Cato's shirt just enough to run her fingers across his abs when he was benching. Katniss smirked at the memory and shook her head slowly at the audacity of some people. No one touched what was hers._

"_Babe." Cato's voice pulled her out of her musings._

"_You ready?" she asked. He nodded and they walked to the city square hand in hand._

* * *

"_Hello and welcome to the 72nd Annual Hunger Games Reaping!" the escort chimed happily. His greeting was met with applause, whoops, and hollers. As all Career districts knew, it was an honor to be selected or to be chosen by the Academy to volunteer._

"_So without further ado, ladies first." The escort plunged his hand inside the bowl fishing out a folded piece of paper, and toddled over to the mic in his ridiculous-looking platforms._

"_Katniss Everdeen."_

_Cato raised an eyebrow waiting for the girl that was chosen to volunteer this year. He looked over to the fifteen year old girls section to see Katniss' stone cold glare facing someone in the eighteen year old group. His eyes followed her gaze to see a girl with a smug grin on her face. She watched as the girl turned towards Cato and winked, then looked back at her to wave her fingers mouthing 'bye'._

_Katniss was beyond pissed. That much Cato could tell as she walked on to the stage with a scowl set on her face. She looked menacing, but nevertheless still radiant in his eyes. Usually he was the temperamental one in their relationship but once Katniss got riled up, she could be quite the spitfire. She all but growled at the escort when he told her to shake hands with her counterpart. He simply cleared his throat and led the tributes to the justice building._

* * *

"_Knock, knock." Cato smirked leaning against the open the door. "You ok babe?"_

"_What do _you _think? That stupid bitch didn't volunteer like she was supposed to. Ugh, she did it on purpose too!" Katniss ranted pacing the room angrily. Cato sighed and sat down in one of the chairs, he didn't know if five minutes was a long enough time to calm her down _and _say goodbye. _

"_Ever since I started beating her scores during training she's had it out for me and now that she finally saw a chance to get rid of me for good she took it! I hate her. To make it worse she's going to start going after you! AAAGGHH!" she screamed and punched the wall leaving a hole. _

_Cato raised his eyebrows and stood in front of his girlfriend to stop her pacing. Katniss simply folded her arms across her chest and looked off to the side. _

"_First of all, you underestimate yourself. How do you know that you won't come back? I know you have it in you to win. And trust me when I say that I'm not really into red heads, so no worries about that girl alright? I love _you, _Katniss. You know that..." Cato said softly, not that he doubted her ability to come back to him but just in case he had to let her know for what could possibly be the last time._

_Cato cupped her face with his hands, "I just wanted to get everything off my chest." He whispered. Katniss smiled slightly and placed her hands on his wrists holding them in place. _

"_I know, but _I can do this._ As long as I have you to come back to I'll be fine." She said firmly. It was Cato's turn to smile._

"_Good, because I don't know what I'd do without you and I don't want to find out." He kissed her the forehead, "So to make sure that you'll come back…" he released her and pulled something out of his pocket._

"_Cato what—" Katniss started to ask._

"_Shh, just hold on a sec. Give me your hand." She immediately placed her hand in his. Cato slipped a ring on her finger, "Your district token and a promise from me that when you come back I'll replace this promise ring with a real one some day." He said and kissed her hand._

_Katniss stared at the beautiful silver piece of jewelry now adorning her finger. All she could do was wrap her arms around him and pull him in for a kiss. He caught on quickly and passionately kissed her back, his arms holding onto her for dear life. _

"_Thank you." She whispered smiling hugely with tears in her eyes. _

"_You can pay me back by returning, alright?" Cato said jokingly and kissed her cheek. _

_Katniss just laughed and hugged him once more; he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. _

"_Alright times up." The peacekeeper said opening the door. Cato kissed her briefly before releasing her._

"_I love you, Cato." She said as he walked out. The door slamming behind him loudly._

BAM.

Cato jerked awake. It had felt so real to him like he was reliving the memory but alas it was only a dream. He rubbed his face with his hands and furrowed his eyebrows slightly when he felt wetness on his finger tips.

"It's called crying." Clove said from the couch. He looked at her then, she was probably the one that slammed the door.

"You alright?" Cato asked referring to the angry door slam.

"I should be asking you that." She said smirking, "What happened?"

"I had a dream…" he said looking at his hands. Clove raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue.

"About?" she prompted.

"Her." was all he said before he looked up.

Clove could see his now pink tear-brimmed eyes and her heart broke for him. He looked so much younger, so much like the sixteen year old boy that cried when _she _left. Cato sniffed. She cold see how much he was trying not to let anymore tears spill but in the end he ended up covering his eyes anyway. He bit his lip and looked at the window to the right to try and regain his composure but it would take more than that to calm him down. Clove saw how lost he was and she moved to place her hand on his back and rub soothing circles. She remembered her mom doing the same thing whenever Clove was upset. After some time he exhaled and stood up from the bed.

"It's time to go." She said as softly as she could. He nodded and followed her out of his room to the main cart and out of the train with the normal mask void of emotion set on his face. The once broken boy was gone and in his place now was a ruthless Career hell bent on winning.

Clove sighed, _Oh Katniss what would you do?_

* * *

A/N: So I put some Catoniss in there for you guys as well some semblance of a back story. I don't know if I'll be able to update this quick all the time but I just wanted to get some parts of the story out to clarify a few things. Hopefully you guys caught on to the references I made about a certain "past tribute". Thank you to all of the people that reviewed and added alerts! Means alot. (:

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	3. The Stylists

A/N: Normally I don't like to put the author notes at the beginning of the chapter because as a reader I like to get to the good stuff right away but I'd just like to point out something. Since I'm keeping along with the "Girl on Fire" thing, Cinna was Katniss' stylist so he'll also be a stylist for Clove. (Since this is District 2 not 12)

* * *

"Go near my face with that brush one more time, I'll shove it so far up—"

Clove's voice was instantly muffled when Octavia stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her quickly.

"Um, do you know where Cinna is?" She asked timidly, her colorful face distressed.

"He's getting Clove's dress I think." Enobaria replied not looking away from the monitor. Octavia simply huffed and got into the elevator.

"NO!" _Crash._

"What was that!" Brutus asked walking out of his room.

"Clove." Enobaria said as if her name alone was a simple enough explanation. He chuckled and shook his head, the girl with the knives hadn't changed a bit.

"Where's Blondie?"

"Where else?" She scoffed, "You know how that boy is, training is his life now. He should be coming up any time now to get ready. Why do you need him?" Her attention was now fully on him.

Brutus bit the inside of his cheek. He and Cato hadn't been on good terms lately—that was an understatement. The kid hadn't said a word to him since he arrived two days ago. Brutus had approached him with a warm smile and a handshake but was met with Cato's glare and cold shoulder. They used to be so close, Cato was like a son to him.

"Just wanted to know how he was holding up." Brutus finally answered.

Enobaria sighed. She had an inkling of why he was acting the way he was, and why Brutus was the only one getting the bad end of the stick. This was her first year mentoring so Cato couldn't blame her for anything. She rubbed her husband's back reassuringly.

"Give him some time. Besides, you're his mentor. You guys will have to talk eventually right?"

He nodded, "I guess you're right."

"Always am." Brutus smirked at her smart remark. _Speak of the devil,_ he thought as Cato walked in.

Cato clenched his jaw as he made eye contact with his uncle. Enobaria, noticing the obvious tension turned off the monitor and stood up.

"I, uh, think Flavius and Venia need help with Clove…I'm just going to go." She said quickly exiting the room. They needed to get this issue out in the open as soon as possible before the games started.

Brutus cleared his throat, "Can we talk?"

Cato walked towards the floor length glass window that looked over the capitol and leaned on it looking out. "Do I have a choice." His demeanor and voice was cold and monotone.

"What happened kid?" Brutus asked spreading his arms while looking at the sullen boy. Cato had changed since he last saw him, he looked older more mature, taller, and just all around bigger.

The young man spun around to face his mentor and scowled, "You know damn well what happened."

"No I don't so help me understand what's wrong."

That's when Cato lost it, "SHE'S NOT HERE! That's what's _wrong._" If he wasn't already angry before he was furious now. How could this man that was like a second father to him be so blasé about her death.

"That's what this is about? You think you were the only person that was affected? I cared for her too; she was like a second daughter to me. So what, you're mad at me because you think I didn't care? Or that I forgot?" Brutus asked.

Cato shook his head slowly, "No. I'm mad that you didn't bring her home." he whispered harshly and retreated to his room where his own prep team was waiting for him.

Brutus stood in the middle of the living room, shocked that Cato had held a grudge for so long. Two years was a really long time for someone to contain so much anger, but he understood. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Cato at his age, if Brutus were in his place he'd go crazy without Enobaria. He guessed that training was the boy's outlet.

In a way, he felt like he deserved a little bit of Cato's anger, it _was _partially his fault he realized. _He _was the mentor, the guide, the lifeline that Katniss depended on when in need of something only a sponsor could provide…and he failed not only her but Cato as well. If he hadn't of been too confident in her, then maybe he would have actually tried harder to get sponsors. Brutus never sent her a parachute. He sighed as he heard a loud bash coming from Cato's room.

Just then, Clove walked out of the room with her prep team trailing right after her. They were trying to coax her back into the room to finish her make-up.

"You people are so infuriating." She growled and pulled out a hidden knife from the inside of her bathrobe. They immediately backed away with their hands up, dropping the brushes that they were holding. Clove sat on the couch and started playing with her knife.

"Where's Cinna?" she asked Brutus, "I've been in that chair for _hours._ I'd rather be running laps than just sitting around."

He smirked at her impatience, "I'm sure he's on his way now. Where's Enobaria?"

"On the phone." Clove raised an eyebrow, "What happened out here?" she gestured at the trail of broken vases with her knife.

"Nothing, Cato and I just had a little discussion." Brutus replied, no need to drag her into the problem.

"Alright, I'm here." Cinna announced his arrival.

"Oh thank you! We didn't know how else to—" Venia said. Cinna cut her off gently.

"I'll take it from here. Clove I promise I'll make it quick and painless."

She scoffed, "Yeah, that's what they said and I'm still in pain. But I think you're one of the few capitolites that actually have a brain so…I'm coming." She stood up and walked back into the room Cinna walking in behind her and shutting the door.

"Was that Cinna I heard?" Portia asked walking out of Cato's room.

"Yes, he's getting Clove ready right now." Brutus answered. Portia nodded and joined the rest of the prep team that was quietly talking by the elevator. He decided that now was the right time to apologize to Cato while they were alone, just in case things got destructive again.

* * *

"Hey kid." Brutus said walking in to his nephew's room. Cato stood up from the bed and folded his arms across his chest.

"What do you want?" he cocked his head to the side.

Brutus clasped his hands behind his back, "I'm sorry. I know that it's been like hell for you these past couple years."

Cato raised his eyebrows, "You think an apology makes it all better?"

The older man sighed, "No it doesn't but I just wanted you to know that I was sorry."

"Well 'sorry' isn't going to bring her back, so I don't need it." Cato said shrugging.

"Then what _do _you need?" Brutus asked exasperated.

"To win. So if you really want to help me, actually _try _and get me some sponsors." Cato stated and walked out hitting his mentor's shoulder as he passed.

_Trust me kid, I will. I won't let you down this time. _Brutus thought sadly and followed him out.

* * *

A/N: Sorry no Katniss in this chapter but she will definitely be in the next one in some way, shape, or form. Thanks a bunch for the reviews and follows. (:

P.S. If anyone is confused about anything regarding my story, please feel free to PM me and I'll explain as best as I can.

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	4. Tribute Parade

"Remember, be fierce." Enobaria said as Cato and Clove got on the chariot.

"Like that's a challenge." Clove scoffed, "We got this in the bag Cato…Cato?" she turned to her district partner who was staring at his reflection on his helmet.

"Cato!" She yelled punching his arm, "What are you doing? We're about to start moving."

"Huh?" He looked at her, "Oh I was just checking to see if my makeup was too noticeable. I don't see why they need to put any on me, my face is fine without all that cosmetic crap." he replied putting his helmet back on while Clove rolled her eyes.

The pair were clad in gold gladiator armor with matching winged helmets. Except the armor wasn't really armor, the fabric was just meant to shine to create the illusion that it was metal. Both tunics were sleeveless, much to Cato's pleasure, and came up to their knees. The real problem was creating gladiator sandals that fit Cato's calf size. They were suppose to go up right under the knee but for his sake, they made him wear ankle ones instead. Cinna wanted to make them look like gods and he definitely succeeded. Clove looked absolutely ethereal, the gold bringing out the light brown flecks in her eyes while Cato looked like a god of war and every bit the warrior that he was.

He took another glance at the blonde blue-eyed boy, his first impression being that he was brutal. But after learning what Brutus had said about him he was a bit surprised to find out the truth. Though the boy's face was cold and calculating, he could see why he and Katniss made a good match. He had finally met the boy that fueled her fire, and he understood perfectly now how their temperaments didn't clash. He could imagine Cato being brash and angry while Katniss kept a cool head to calm him down.

Cinna had gotten to know the girl on fire and marked loyalty as one of her best attributes. He remembered the first conversation they ever had when he met her. It was two years ago, the day of the tribute parade.

_Cinna was walking towards District 2's designated wash station to drop of some supplies when he heard smashing and screaming coming from the room that tributes were suppose to wait in._

"_WHERE IS IT? GIVE IT TO ME _NOW_!" he heard a girl shout and opened the door. He raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. The girl was holding a hose and pointing it at the prep team while they had their hands up._

"_We needed to take it off so that we could—" Flavius tried to reason with the girl but she cut him off._

"_I DON'T _CARE_! JUST GIVE IT BACK…_NOW. _Before I blast your faces away." She scowled and Venia shrieked. Cinna was surprised at the girl, what was so important that the prep team took from her._

"_I don't think that's necessary…Katniss, is it?" Cinna interrupted trying to end the confrontation. Katniss nodded but otherwise kept her grip on the hose._

"_Who are you? You look too normal to be from the Capitol." She stated her eyes scrutinizing his appearance. He chuckled and held out his hand._

"_Cinna, I'm your stylist." She looked at his hand and reluctantly let go of the hose to shake it. He smiled at her and she returned a timid one._

"_Now Octavia, why don't you give Katniss what belongs to her. I'll handle it from here." Cinna requested gesturing to the other stylist._

_Octavia eyed Katniss warily but otherwise did as she was told and gave her back the object. When she handed it back, Cinna was intrigued to see that it was a ring. The prep team filed out of the room leaving him alone with girl. He noticed that as soon as she put it on she visibly relaxed and started to twist it around her finger looking deep in thought._

"_It's very pretty." He said eyeing the silver piece of jewelry, "Is that your district token?"_

_Katniss bit her lip and her eyes started to water but he could tell that she wouldn't let any tears fall. She took a deep breath to compose herself before answering._

"_Yeah, it's the only thing that'll get me home." She answered, her eyes never leaving the ring._

"_Why's that?" Cinna was interested now, this was probably the first time that a Career had shown any other emotion besides arrogance._

"_I made a promise," she looked at him then, "and I intend to keep it."_

_He saw the fire in her eyes and knew right at that moment what his muse was. Her fierce dedication to whoever the boy was made her determined and willing to do whatever it took to get back to him. What tipped him off that it was a special someone was the style of the ring, Cinna could tell it was a promise ring by the simplicity of the style. Engagement and wedding rings were too flashy to look like her ring. He made a promise to himself that he would try his best to get her home. It had only been ten minutes and she had already wormed her way into his side._

The blare of the trumpets announcing the beginning of the tribute parade pulled him out of his memory. Cinna watched as the young man that held the key to Katniss' heart was pulled into the square. He hoped that Cato would win; maybe the boy would finally find peace with himself knowing that he'd won for her.

_If only he knew the truth, _Cinna thought.

* * *

"I didn't know they had a bird nest in District One." Cato smirked and Clove laughed. He was referring to the fact that every inch of their tributes were covered in feathers. I mean he understood that they were the district of luxury but this was just going overboard.

As him and Clove were brought into the light the screams turned deafening, and Cato had a strange feeling of numbness. He saw the capitolites jumping up and down yelling for his name and attention. He could see Clove next to him smirking in satisfaction at all the attention they were getting. His expression however remained blank and stoic. When he glanced over at a group of women waving their arms to get his attention he winked and a couple of them fainted. Cato chuckled, as if any of these colorful freaks could catch his interest.

The parade continued as such, the best friends exchanging their quips and opinions about the other districts. Soon their chariots were lined up in front of a colossal podium where President Snow stood to give his welcoming speech.

"Welcome tributes, to the 74th Annual Hunger Games! We thank you for your great courage and sacrifice. Happy Hunger games! And may the odds be _ever _in your favor."

With that, they were pulled back into the building to their awaiting mentors and prep teams.

"You guys definitely stole the show." Enobaria grinned showing off her gold teeth.

"Told you we would, was there ever any doubt?" Clove joked and the two laughed and started talking among themselves. Brutus excused himself which left Cato alone with Cinna.

"You don't look too happy, you did great out there." Cinna stated, he wanted to know a bit more about his personality and hopefully his response would give him a clue.

"Thanks," Cato replied gruffly, "It was the costume that they liked though."

Cinna smiled and nodded, "Your welcome." The boy's reply was half what he expected. He could tell that Cato wasn't use to compliments and wasn't good at giving them either. That was as close he was going to get as far as a 'good job' from him.

Cato ran a hand through his hair; to say he was uncomfortable was an understatement. He wasn't use to getting praised by others anymore. He was about to interrupt the girl's conversation to talk to Clove but he felt someone staring at him. His head whipped around to face the culprit.

It was a girl from District Seven dressed in a paper mache looking thing. _Wait paper?_ _Oh right, that district produced lumber, _he thought. She looked like a deer caught in headlights as he stared her down, he couldn't tell if she was afraid or entranced but at the moment he couldn't care less so he just shook his head and looked away.

After about five minutes more of mindless chatter between the districts mentors, Enobaria rounds everyone up to go back to their floor. As his group walks to the elevator he feels a pair of eyes on him again, in fact the same pair of eyes that were staring at him earlier. This time though he didn't acknowledge her. When both District Two and Seven waited for the elevator he simply crossed his arms and stared at the doors. Clove nudged him and he looked at her, she tilted her head towards the girl and he looked. The girl realizing she got caught again lowered her gaze and blushed. Cato groaned while Clove snickered.

"Looks like someone has a crush on you." She whispered as the doors opened. He rolled his eyes and stepped in, everyone else trailing in behind him. Clove was dying of laughter on the inside, a pathetic girl from seven had the hots for Cato. This was just like in training when all the girls were pining over him after Katniss left. She couldn't help but let out another giggle before blanking her face again. She noticed that everyone had stared at her like she was crazy, Clove loved it. She grinned to herself hoping to creep them out even more.

Cato sighed at his best friend's antics, he had good feeling that he knew what she was laughing about. He felt the girl staring at him again so when the elevator dinged announcing his floor, he stopped in front of the doors and looked over his shoulder.

"See something you like Seven?" he commented then continued to walk onto his floor the doors closing behind him leaving a stunned redhead behind.

* * *

A/N: So not that happy with this chapter but I've rewritten it too many times to care anymore. Don't worry, I won't have Cato flirting with any other girls during the games but the one in this chapter is going to play a big part in this story. Her character will officially be introduced in the next chapter. Thanks again for the reviews and follows. (:

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	5. Lane Freemont

The redheaded girl watched as the blonde boy from Two swung his sword viciously slicing and hacking his way through dummy after dummy. She couldn't help but watch him, there was something about him that drew her attention and it wasn't just for his looks. Though his were to die for. He was already swoon worthy when he was glaring, she couldn't imagine what he'd look like if he wore a full blown smile.

That wasn't what drew her in though; it was the quick show of emotion he gave when his district partner was reaped. When she watched the recaps on the train she was already looking at him but no one would've been able to see it if they weren't watching closely. It seemed he only showed himself to his district partner, that thought had a little bite of jealousy attached to it. Was there something going on between Cato and the girl? As if on command of hearing his name his eyes met her across the room. She quickly averted her gaze to the flint stones in her hands.

* * *

"Trying to show off?" Clove smirked walking up to the sword station where Cato was shredding dummies like it was nobody's business. He stopped halfway through his swing when she appeared in front of him.

"I could've chopped your head off."

Clove grinned, "Yeah, but you didn't."

Cato rolled his eyes, "You're lucky I have excellent control and to answer your question, yes I am. Why do you think they have the game makers and the sponsors sit up on that balcony if not to watch us?"

"They sit up there as an excuse to get wasted and eat themselves sick." She retorted, "I was getting at the fact that Seven over there has been eyeing you this entire time."

He looked over at the girl just in time for her to drop her head. "I know. What's your point?"

She grinned, "Nothing…just find it interesting is all."

"Clove…" Cato warned.

Clove rose her hands up in mock surrender, "Alright, alright I'm done. Just saying that we could use that crush of hers to our advantage."

Cato folded his arms across his chest, "How so?"

"Well let's see. If you play your cards right she'll be eating out of your hand _and _not to mention it could get you some sponsors—"

"No."

Clove raised an eyebrow and mimicked his pose, "No?"

"I know what you're suggesting and I'm not doing it."

"Cato we have to be smart about this. I don't care how uncomfortable you are."

He scoffed, "Thanks Clove, glad to know you have my best interest at heart."

"I'm trying to get you home, and if this seals the deal then so be it. Don't you get that? This is all for _you. _Sorry if it seems a little desperate but unless you have a better idea…" she trailed off.

Cato was taken aback by her heart felt words. This was probably the first time that he had ever heard Clove say something so selfless. He licked his lips.

"It's not that it isn't a good idea it's just, I don't think that I can betray Katniss like that…I mean I've never looked at anyone like that since her death and I don't want to. Even if it _is _fake, I don't think I could bring myself to do that. You're asking a little too much."

Clove sighed, "I see that but I'm not saying that you have to be all over her, just be…nice."

Cato furrowed his eyebrows, "Nice?"

"Yeah, you know—smile, say 'Hi', have a little small talk, and throw in the occasional 'badass' smirk that all the girls back home faint over." Clove rolled her eyes at the last bit.

He smirked and opened his mouth to say something smart but she beat him to it, "That'd be the one."

Instantly his smirk dropped and he glared at her. Clove simply smiled and walked back to her knives leaving Cato to mull over their newly found options. He shook his head and reached for the sword he had stuck in one of the dummies but his hand met air. He turned around looking for the culprit; he spotted the district seven boy attempting to swing the sword at a dummy. Cato growled and made a beeline for him. When he was close enough to reach out for him, Cato roughly pushed him yanking the sword out of the boy's grip.

"YOU TOOK MY SWORD!" He roared and the boy, still on the ground cowering in fear, crawled backwards a bit. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run you through right now!"

"Because you'd get disqualified and I don't think your name is on that sword." A small voice quipped.

Cato turned his glare on the redheaded girl from Seven and breathed deeply trying to resist the urge to choke the living daylights out of her. "WHAT?!" he lashed out sharply.

She flinched but replied, "You asked for a reason, and I gave you two so you can leave him alone now."

Clove laughed and shoved her way through the gathered crowd of tributes witnessing the spectacle, "Isn't that sweet…defending your boyfriend. No use, he's already dead anyway. He was dead the minute he got reaped."

She turned to Cato, "Come on. We'll deal with him later. He'll be the first one to die in the blood bath." He gritted his teeth but reluctantly followed Clove and returned to his station.

As the duo from Two walked away the gathered group of tributes dispersed.

"Thanks." The boy from Seven said, "I'm Carter Montgomery." He said standing up.

"Lane Freemont." The girl extended her hand to the boy in a handshake gesture. "Don't thank me yet though, you're at the top of his list now."

Carter shrugged, "So are you."

"Looks like we have something in common then other than our district number." Lane replied smiling. Carter grinned back, unknowingly starting an alliance between the two of them.

* * *

AN: I am so sorry for the late update. Volleyball started up where I'm at so I've been going to practice everyday and my coach is pretty relentless with his workouts which leave me dog-tired by the end of the day sometimes. Truth is though, I already have parts of the story on my ipod and I just need to transfer it and organize what goes where. I tend to write bits and pieces of major scenes in the story whenever inspiration hits me and then fill in the missing parts later. Kind of weird I know but it gets the job done most of the time. I have no idea how people write everything straight through…Anyways I'll try to update faster but just know that I have no abandoned this story. In fact I have everything mapped out in my head already. Pardon the long note. Thanks for sticking with this story and for reviewing! :))

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	6. Training

"Clove, I can't do it anymore. It's getting too weird." Cato said leaning over the couch next to where she was sitting.

"Can't do what?" Clove asked turning around to face him.

He sighed, "This whole act. I don't know if it's just me over thinking but she's starting to act like Katniss."

"What do you mean?"

"Like today during training she was at the archery station. From the back she looked just like her but when she shot she missed every target." He answered shaking his head. The day before that she was even scaling the rope course like it was a breeze.

"Impossible, Katniss is a brunette." Clove scoffed.

"I'm being serious."

She raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you're falling for her?"

"Definitely not. I'm not into redheads."

"Then I don't see what the problem is. You my friend are just reading more into things." Clove stated turning back around and resumed playing with her knife.

"Alright then how do you explain the braid…?" Cato's eyes narrowed.

She swallowed, "Braid?"

"I knew it. Stop meddling Clove. What happened to doing things my way?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Clove shot back standing up.

He stood up as well, "Oh I think you do. Why are you doing this? And don't give me that 'for your own good' crap."

"Just trying to help you out a little. I bet you haven't even noticed that she's decent at the survival areas." She folded her arms across her chest.

"No, actually I haven't. How did you do it?" Cato asked.

"Make her braid her hair? Easy, I just said that you liked girls with braids." Clove donned a smug grin.

He glared, "I don't see the point in doing all of this. I can act."

"Ha! No you can't. Well not when it comes to her anyway. Anyone that's not her can tell that your smiles are forced. You need to be more convincing." She laughed.

"I told you I'm trying, but it's awkward. She's too…" Cato trailed off not finding the right word to explain.

"Different? Actually their personalities have some similarities. They're both not afraid to speak up against you. Don't you remember the sword incident that happened two days ago?" Clove asked.

He grimaced at the memory, "I remember wanting to wring her neck."

Clove rolled her eyes, "This is what I'm talking about. You need to hide your anger better, at least if you don't want to be nice. Look tomorrow is the last day of training before the session with the game makers, get her to join the career pack."

Cato furrowed his eyebrows, "Join the career pack? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Well how do you expect this whole romance thing to work if you guys aren't together?!" She explained exasperated.

"Romance!? Okay, I'm going to have to draw the line here—"

"Cato! Look I've already ran this by Brutus and Enobaria and they said that this was a good plan. This means that we're doing the right thing. So just go with it."

His face hardened, "You consulted my uncle about this."

"Well I needed a little help and—"

"He's the one that told you to set everything up. Didn't he?"

"Maybe…" Clove answered in a small voice biting her lip while Cato ran a hand through his hair. He then folded his arms across his chest and shook his head slowly looking at the ground. Then all of a sudden he picked up the vase that was resting on a nearby end table and chucked it against the wall smashing the decoration sending shards of porcelain all over the floor. Clove sighed and sat down putting her head in her hands as he got in the elevator viciously pressing the button for the training room.

* * *

_Who the hell does he think he is messing with my life? _

Slash.

_Now he decides to help._

Slash.

_No one can replace Katniss._

Slash.

_No one._

Slash.

_I'll show them._

Slash.

_I'll show them all that I don't need some pathetic excuse for a tribute to help me win._

After storming out of his floor he needed to release his pent up anger the 'healthy' way. Through training. He was slashing up all the dummies in sight, even going out of his way to get new ones from the storage room when everything was shredded. Halfway through one of his swings he heard the training room doors open. He looked up to see who arrived and the person who stepped in was none other than the girl from Seven. She glanced at him and then hurriedly walked over to the archery station.

_Focus Cato, _he told himself and then continued hacking away. After a few minutes of silence he heard someone groan. He brushed it off the first few times and went back to slicing but then it started to get on his nerves. He sighed and looked over at the girl; she was struggling with her aim hence the disgruntled sounds. Putting his sword back on the rack he walked over to where she was and watched her try to shoot for a bit before finally interrupting.

"Your aim is off because your stance is wrong." Cato said. The girl turned around startled at his presence, she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Here." He said and stepped towards her to help. He nudged her feet apart with his foot and moved her arms up until they were level with her shoulders.

"Face forward." He instructed again and she complied, "Now try again."

As the girl took a deep breath he remembered when he was in her position exactly. Katniss was trying to teach him to shoot but he was struggling as well.

_Cato was about fourteen and Katniss thirteen when she had first taught him. _

"_Ugh, come _on._" He growled to no one in particular. _

_A trainer had told him to shoot twenty bullseyes before the end of the day as punishment for pulling a prank on someone at the academy. Cato was missing every shot he made so far which only further irritated him. Instead of working on his swordsmanship he was stuck doing this all because someone tattle-taled on him. Not his fault the little terd couldn't take a joke._

"_Need some help?" He heard someone say. Normally he would lash out and beat whoever thought him weak into a bloody pulp, but he knew who the voice belonged to so instead he smirked._

"_That obvious?"_

_Katniss laughed, "Well considering that your target board is empty, yeah." _

_Cato smiled, he liked hearing her laugh. She walked over to him with her own bow and arrows and chose a target. He watched as she got into a stance and reached back into her quiver loading her bow, her eyes never leaving the target. She raised the bow up to her lips and breathed in and out slowly. Then without missing a beat she let the arrow fly loose. Of course it landed in the middle with a thump. Bullseye. _

"_You just need patience." She said lowering her bow and glancing at him. Cato nodded and tried to mimic her position. He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow asking for approval. Her eyes scrutinized his form before she nudged his foot back and positioned his arms. She then turned his shoulders to make holding the bow easier. _

"_Alright, now load your bow." Cato did as she said and Katniss walked to stand next to him resting a hand on his shoulder. _

"_Now aim," She said quietly into his ear sending shivers down his back, "and…loose." She whispered. He took a deep breath and shot. _

Thump.

Cato snapped out of his reverie and looked to see that the girl had shot a few centimeters away from the center. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you," she shifted the bow to one of her hands to hold her other hand out, "Lane."

He ignored her hand and simply nodded, "Cato." he offered and walked back to his station and resumed slashing away.

Lane watched his retreating figure and her heart sped up. He had helped her. If he was such a horrible person that people painted him out to be then he wouldn't have done that.

* * *

That night three tributes laid awake until the early hours of the morning thinking about the games.

_You many not understand now Cato, but you will. _Clove thought.

Meanwhile in the room across from hers a blonde, blue eyed boy was up as well. _Maybe I can do just that, be nice and nothing else…nothing else…_he thought before shutting his eyes.

A girl a few floors above them was moving restlessly in her bed, _Will he be like that tomorrow?_ She thought before turning over and falling asleep.

* * *

A/N: So I was able to squeeze in another chapter for you guys. This one is kind of slow but it's more of a filler. The next one will be the last day of training and _maybe _the private session if I get enough inspiration. I just have to add that I'm happy some of you guys are starting to get the hints aha. Thanks a bunch for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys keep me writing. (:

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	7. Awkward

Ding!

"Remember what we talked about." Clove whispered quietly as she and Cato walked onto the elevator which also happened to have a wide-eyed Lane standing in the corner with her district partner. Cato nodded slightly and looked back at the girl giving her a tight-lipped smile. Clove sighed as the elevator chimed once again, announcing the arrival of their floor. She nudged Cato as they walked out.

"Could you be anymore awkward?"

"I said I was trying." Cato growled and went straight towards the weightlifting station.

Clove sighed, _looks like I need to have another little chat with Lane, _she thought.

"So how did it go yesterday?" Lane looked up from her painted arm to see Clove standing in front of her.

"You mean with…" She trailed off.

Clove scoffed, "Who else?"

Lane licked her lips, "Oh. Well he was very helpful. He helped me w-with my shooting."

The brunette nodded in approval, "Fair enough. I need you to do one more thing." She said. Lane listened intently at her plan.

"If I do this…I'll be safe?"

"Safe as you can get, after all… this _is _the Hunger Games kid." Clove smirked and walked over to the weightlifting station to join her district partner.

After Clove left, Lane tried to go back to camouflaging her arm but found out that she couldn't. By doing as Clove asked she would be safe for the majority of the game and not to mention she would have a better chance to get to know the brutal career from Two.

* * *

"Going behind my back again Clove?" Cato said from the bench press chair, his eyes never leaving the ceiling.

Clove cleared her throat, "I find that impossible in your position." She was referring to the fact that he was on his back practically laying down. "I mean I'm just a normal person like you Cato, I lift dumbbells one arm at a time." She smirked and went to the abs machine.

As she settled into her thirty minute warm-up routine she allowed her mind to wander. Clove hoped that their plan would work, for Cato's sake. If the girl followed through on her directions then everything would go without a hitch and they'd be set for the games. Cato would be safe, although she wasn't too sure about Lane. Clove had guaranteed Lane's safety for as long as Cato thought it was worth it. If his patience wore out before the finale then that would suck for the girl. Oh well, it wouldn't be her problem anymore.

* * *

"Attention Tributes! Please report to the obstacle course. This is mandatory. All tributes to the obstacle course!" a voice rang out after a few hours.

"Obstacle course huh…sounds fun." Clove grinned and Cato quirked one side of his mouth up at her childish anticipation. His eyes glazed over the loop that went around the entire space with different obstacles placed strategically on the certain parts of the course.

Atala appeared at the beginning of the track holding a stopwatch. "This obstacle course will not only test your agility, but also your speed and endurance. Complete the track once and then end here." She gestured to where she was standing, "You have approximately two minutes to warm-up."

"50?" Clove asked stretching out her legs.

"50." Cato smirked bringing his arm in front of him to stretch his tricep. His smirk faded when he felt someone slide their hand around his flexed bicep. He instantly slapped the hand away.

"Ow, Cato!" Glimmer squealed rubbing her hand.

"Don't touch me." He snarled and she backed away instantly, "Remind me again why we have airhead in the career pack?"

Clove laughed, "Because she's from District 1. Come on, I know you're enjoying the attention. Somewhere inside your ego is jumping with joy."

"Not even a little bit." He sighed.

"Everyone to the starting line!" Atala yelled setting her stopwatch, she waited until everyone was in their own lane before starting the countdown, "On your mark…get set…Go!"

The tributes took off for the first part of the race. So far Cato and Clove were in the lead, Marvel a close second, the boy from District 4 in third, and surprisingly Lane tied with Glimmer for fourth. At the end of the 400m mark there were hurdles set up one side and about a dozen steeples on the other. Cato looked at Clove and she nodded in response they ran for the hurdles. They knew that water only slowed you down, so it made up for the many rows of hurdles.

The next obstacle had ledges that you had to balance on and jump off of. Though Cato had the lead at first, this was Clove's element. She was smaller and lighter on her feet compared to him.

She grinned looking back at him, "Having a little trouble there Cato?" he glared and increased his stride so that he didn't have to jump, he would just leap onto the ledges without stopping. The competition continued on as such. Clove or Cato would take the lead depending on the obstacle and their strengths but ultimately Clove won.

"7:29…" Atala called out as Clove ran past the finish line, "7:31…" Cato heard as he ran over the line as well.

"Damn it." He muttered.

"Well, what are you still doing standing up? 50 right? Drop." Clove said folding her arms across her chest smugly.

Cato cursed under his breath but did as he was told. He was on his seventeenth push-up when he felt something on his back. It wasn't unbearably heavy but it was noticeable. They had put heavier things on him during training back in District 2.

"Clove you said 50, you didn't say with weights." He said in between his deep breaths.

"Yeah, I know but I wanted to sit down and your back looked comfortable." She said in an almost bored tone. Clove was sitting on him Indian style while idly picking out dirt from underneath her fingernails with a knife.

As Cato finished his pushups, Marvel ran past Atala earning him the time 7:58. Cato rolled over onto his back trapping Clove's legs under him. She glared at him but he simply crossed his ankles and put his arms behind his head feigning relaxation. Marvel walked over to them and hunched over trying to catch his breath.

"You guys…are…so fast…" Cato shrugged and Clove smirked.

"Not fast enough apparently since Cato over here came in second." She said wiggling her legs, but to no avail. Cato was two hundred pounds of thick muscle.

"It was the stupid crawl. I'm too big to fit into those tiny pieces of crap. We're tributes, not soldiers." He shook his head.

Marvel had regained his breathing and sat next to Clove, "Where you guys suppose to finish at the same time or…?"

"Well that was the plan, but the loser had to do 50 pushups…Which is why Cato is being a jerk and not getting off of me." She grumbled.

Cato rolled off and got into a sitting position and raised an eyebrow, "Happy now?"

"No." he rolled his eyes at her response.

"8:15…" they heard Atala say and they looked up to see Lane jogging past the line.

_She beat Glimmer, _Clove thought just as Glimmer ran over the finish line earning herself an 8:22. As the blonde sat down next to Clove and stretched out her legs, Marvel sat next to Cato.

"District 7 is pretty fast." He said nodding his head towards Lane, "I mean she beat Glimmer…" that earned him a dirty look from none other than Glimmer herself.

Clove scoffed, "Yeah, she's seems like a worthy ally don't you think Cato?"

He narrowed his eyes. He knew his best friend was testing him, "Sure." he offered indifferently, "Marv go ask her to join." Glimmer huffed but no one paid her any mind. Clove on the other hand smirked with satisfaction while Cato glared at her evenly.

* * *

That night as Cato closed his eyes to sleep, instead of being thrust into a world of nothing that he was used to his mind had other ideas. The dream started off as such…

"_What's it like?" Cato said twirling a lock of Katniss' curly brown hair. She was currently lying on his chest, and they were in the meadow near the base of one of the mountains in District 2._

"_What's what like" She mumbled._

"_The games…" He felt her tense up at the mention of the word._

"_I don't want to talk about it." She replied quietly, "Just hold me, kay?"_

_Cato tightened his arms in response, his hand now running through her hair repeatedly. All of a sudden he heard a voice in the distance calling his name. Soon it became loud enough that he swore someone else was in the meadow with them. _

"_Cato!" he recognized the voice, it was Lane. She came walking through the tall grass towards him and Katniss. _What the hell, _he thought. He stood up pulling Katniss with him as he stood._

"_How'd you get here?" Cato asked at the same time that Katniss asked, "Who's this?"_

"_Umm, Katniss this is Lane, Lane," he gestured to the brunette, "Katniss."_

_Lane smiled tentatively while Katniss kept a blank face staring at the girl. Awkward._

"_What are you doing here?" She asked bluntly raising her chin a little._

"_I came to see Cato." Lane said with just as much attitude. Cato's eyes widened._

"_Why?" he asked. _

_Katniss turned around to face him. "Does it _matter_?" Jealousy and possessiveness lacing her voice._

_Cato sighed, "Babe, it's fine—"_

"_No. Who the hell does this girl think she is!?" Katniss growled walking over to stand in front Lane. Out of habit Lane took a step back at her approach, a little afraid of her intimidating stare. Gray eyes piercing her green ones._

"_This _girl_ is standing right here. If you need to say something, then _say it._" Lane boldly stated. Katniss' eyes flashed dangerously and she lunged, but Cato wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back._

"_Kat stop. She—" he started but she cut him off again. _

"_Stop defending her!" Katniss yelled and wiggled out of his hold._

"_Katniss look, it's not…you don't understand…" he said lamely trying to explain._

_She narrowed her eyes, "Oh. I understand. _Perfectly._"_

_Katniss began to turn around and walk away not sparing him a glance. Cato reached to grab her wrist and tell her to stay but he found that he couldn't move his feet. _

"_What the—Katniss wait! Please babe stop! Wait! Katniss!" he shouted still trying to move his feet. Meanwhile, Lane took advantage of his immobility and stepped closer to him placing her hand on his arm. He battled her attempts of touch while still trying to regain the use of his lower limbs. Cato could vaguely hear Lane in the background pleading him to calm down because everything was finally going to 'be okay'. With each struggle he faced Katniss seemed to walk farther and farther until she was barely visible. Without a word she turned around and spread her arms out falling backwards exactly the way she died. _

_Lane suddenly appeared in front of his face, "It's okay, I'm here." She tried to soothe him by stroking his face. He swatted her hands away telling her to fuck off. He tried to look around her form to see if Katniss was still falling, as she was just about to hit the water he cried out._

"Katniss!" Cato screamed bolting up right in his bed.

He was breathing heavily, sweat drenching every inch of his form. He leaned forward placing his face in his hands trying to calm down his heart. After a while he ran a hand through his hair and lay back down. He tried closing his eyes again but her face kept flashing in his mind. Sleep was impossible now. He gave up on it and instead thought about the nightmare.

He used to have these nightmares all the time about Katniss falling, and every single time he failed to save her. This time was different though, Lane was in it. That alone itself confused the shit out of him. All of a sudden he became worried. He needed to talk to Clove.

Cato padded barefoot across the expanse of the floor making sure to not make a sound. He knocked on her door lightly. He heard her groan and soon enough he door opened to reveal a less than happy Clove.

"What do you want?" she asked grumpily rubbing her eyes. Cato walked in and sat on her bed.

"Am I replacing Katniss?" He asked outright staring at Clove. She immediately seemed to lose her grogginess.

"Of course not! Why, what happened?" she sat next to him.

"I had a nightmare and…Katniss left." His voice cracked towards the end.

"Left? Did she die again?" Clove asked remembering his old nightmares as well.

"No, well yes…she got angry and left because Lane was there and then…she just fell." He said quietly.

Her eyebrows shot up, "_Lane _was in your dream?"

"Yeah, she kept getting in my way. I was trying to save Katniss but she kept stopping me." He explained anger evident in his voice, "I feel like my brain is trying to tell me to stay away from Lane. I'm losing sight of Katniss because of her. I don't remember ever feeling so panicked before, I nearly punched in her my dream."

"Look, I know that you're stressed out right now but don't read to much into this okay? It's only going to bother you and keep you distracted. So just forget about it for the meantime." Clove contemplated standing up and walking over to the door to open it. Cato sighed but nodded and walked back to his room.

_Don't worry. I won't let you forget her, _Clove thought as she closed the door behind him.

* * *

A/N: I'd just like to point out that Lane is not Katniss and I see how some of you might have gotten confused. Which is bad on my part, Sorry! It'll get less confusing as the story progresses on hopefully. So no private session today but it'll be in the next chapter along with the interviews. Just one more chapter before we get to the games! Whoo! Oh and just a quick question, do you think this story is moving too slow or too fast? Feedback is appreciated. Also a "massive thank you" to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed. :)

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	8. Scores, Braids, and Itches

The next morning when Cato woke up, he noticed that he woke up later than usual. He looked at the time displayed on his bedside table and threw his covers off his legs. He was late. He immediately rushed through his shower, brushing his teeth as he put his clothes on. In record time he was out the door heading to the dining room. He heard them first before he saw them.

"I don't know if it's such a good idea anymore…" He heard Clove say and he stopped in his tracks. Cato was still partially hidden behind the corner so he stood there listening.

"What do you mean? It's a great idea." A gruffer voice replied, Brutus. He rolled his eyes at his comment, cocky bastard. That's probably where he got that from.

"Brutus." Enobaria reprimanded, "What happened Clove?" Cato held his breath. He didn't want them to know _everything_. He hoped that his best friend wouldn't tell the whole story.

"Well long story short, I think Cato should just focus on winning. Bringing Lane into this wasn't as smart as I thought it would be." Clove stated. Cato let out a sigh of relief.

"Why do you think that?" Enobaria asked.

Clove sighed, "Because. If you think about it, Cato's strong enough to win this without her help. We only came up with this to get him sponsors."

Brutus harrumphed, "I still say we should continue on. You've already invested too much time in this to back out, and having a lot of sponsors couldn't hurt either." He insisted. Cato felt his hand twitch; he wanted to backhand his uncle more than anything right at that moment. Why couldn't they just listen to Clove?

"He has a point Clove…" Enobaria said quietly. A few moments of silence passed before someone said anything.

"Fine. I'll tell him." Clove said grudgingly and he heard the clatter of silverware pick up again. He decided to reveal himself now.

"Oh, were just about to go wake you up." Enobaria said glancing at him. He nodded and sat down across from Clove. They made eye contact but no words were exchanged.

"The private session is today. It starts around 1pm, so you have a little over two hours to prep yourselves. I expect nothing less than a 10 from you two. Understood?" Brutus asked. Clove and Cato nodded and went back to eating.

* * *

"_Marvel Tate." _A voice rang out in the waiting room. Marvel grinned and walked into the training room the doors closing behind him.

"I'd give him a 9." Clove said after a moment playing with one of her knives.

"I'd say about an 8." Cato piped in a bored tone.

Glimmer ran a finger down his arm and bit her lip seductively, "I'd give you a 10…" Cato shrugged her off as Clove rolled her eyes.

"_Glimmer Brice." _Glimmer smiled and blew a kiss to Cato before walking into the room.

Clove laughed, "Damn. She wants the D."

Cato groaned, as if he didn't have enough of those girls back home trying to get in his bed. He didn't understand where it came from, he's only ever slept with one person his entire life and she was gone.

All too soon his name was called. He gave Clove a parting glance and she shot him a supportive smile before he strode in to the room oozing confidence. He knew that the game makers would eat that shit up. For once he allowed himself to smirk. _This is going to be a cake walk, _he thought and the doors shut behind him.

* * *

"_District 1: Marvel Tate with a score of 9." _Caesar Flickerman's voice said on the projection. Clove and Cato along with their mentors were watching the scores.

Clove turned to Cato smirking, "Told you so."

"Shut up." He rolled is eyes.

"_Glimmer Brice with a score of 8."_

"Not bad for a princess." Clove commented sarcastically.

"_District 2: Cato Perris, 10." _

"Good job Cato." Enobaria said patting his shoulder. Clove gave him a small smile, while Brutus nodded his head approvingly.

"_Clove Rosso, 10." _Clove beamed and was met with the same treatment.

"Alright, you guys are free to do whatever now." Brutus said as left the room with Enobaria, she shot them a grin and followed him out.

"Well, we have the rest of the day to ourselves. I don't know about you but I'm going to go catch up on some sleep." Clove said getting up; she gave Cato a mock two-fingered salute before retreating to her bedroom.

Cato sighed walking over to the elevator and pushed the button for the roof. He vaguely heard Caesars' voice in the background announce that Lane had gotten a 9. He needed to get away from everyone for a bit to clear his head. As the floor dinged announcing his arrival he shoved his hands into his jean pockets and walked out. He went over to the ledge and looked out across the Capitol. Suddenly he heard a paper being crinkled. He froze when he noticed that he wasn't alone. Across the empty space was Lane sitting on a bench with her back towards him. She was running her hands through her hair and reading a book.

His eyes followed her hands that disappeared and reappeared as she tried to comb her hair with her fingers. He didn't freeze because she was up here, he froze because the action was familiar. Cato only knew of one girl that did that.

_Katniss was sitting in the chair in front of her vanity doing her usual braid when he walked in. He smiled. He liked watching her nimble fingers weave the locks of her hair into the same intricate pattern. Quietly he crept up behind her, being careful not to show himself in the mirror, and mussed her hair so that no it was disarray. She gasped and looked at him through the mirror. Cato clutched his stomach in laughter at her face. The shock that spread across it was priceless._

"_Cato!" She scolded, "I spent half an hour unknotting my hair!" that simply made him laugh even harder if that was possible. _

"_I'm sorry Kat, but it was _so _worth it." He chuckled again. _

_She pouted at his apology but otherwise ran her fingers through her hair to try to regain some semblance of normalcy again. Cato bit his lip trying not to laugh again every time her glare met his gaze through the mirror. Finally after a few seconds he sighed and picked up her brush. Moving her hands he stood right behind her and began to brush her hair. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that a small smile had crept onto her face. She turned her head back to look at him but he faced her forward again._

"_Let me do this." He said quietly, concentrating on the silky brown strands of hair that were under his hands._

_Once he stroked each part of her hair back into its natural waves he set down the brush and began to part her hair. Katniss raised an eyebrow and reached up to take over but swatted her hands away gently. _

"_I got it babe, just relax. Better yet close your eyes." Katniss sighed but did as she was told. She could feel his fingers separating and combining parts of her hair as if he had done it a million times before. His hands were never hesitant, always sure. She smiled inwardly at his sweet gesture. _

_Cato had never braided anyone's hair before but he had watched Katniss do it many times before, even without the use of a mirror. How hard could it have been? So he decided to try it. Surprisingly it was easier than expected and he found that he enjoyed doing her hair. It gave him an excuse to touch her soft wavy locks. _

_When he finished tying the end with an elastic band, she opened her eyes and looked at his through the mirror. Her face was in awe at exactly how similar his handiwork was to hers. She beamed at him while he kept his unwavering gaze on her. She reached back with one hand to touch the braid and was impressed to see that not a strand was out of place or lumped._

_He grinned after her inspection and she smirked back. Turning around Katniss stood up and walked into his open arms. They embraced for a while before she spoke._

"_Thank you Cato." She mumbled into his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her._

"_You're welcome." He murmured into her hair before kissing her head, "But it's just a braid. Nothing fancy." Cato held the tip of her hair and brushed it across her cheek._

_She shook her head smiling, "It's much more than just a braid…" She reached up onto her tiptoes and he met her halfway. _

_Their lips came together sweet at first but grew more passionate by the second. He bit her lip gently pulling, and she opened her mouth a little allowing him to deepen the kiss. His hands went under shirt gliding over the dimples in her lower back as he felt her hands tugging at his hair emitting a growl from him. Soon they pulled apart for air. Katniss trailed kisses down his neck biting and nipping the skin. He chuckled aware of what she was doing, if he was leaving with a hickey then so was she. _

_Cato leaned his forehead against hers and stared her now swollen lips. He captured them in a softer kiss this time. He could feel her smile into it. Not wanting to make it too noticeable, he decided to assault the skin in between her neck and jaw so that it could be easily hidden by her hair or be mistaken as a shadow. After leaving his mark he pulled away and smirked. When Katniss realized what had happened she opened her eyes and faced the mirror. Just below her jaw was a deep maroon love bite. _

"_Are you serious? Mine wasn't even that dark!" She said folding her arms across her chest. _

"_I know but," he shrugged, "I just couldn't help myself." Cato advanced on her a dangerous glint in his eyes. _

"_Ohh no. You stay away from me Cato." Katniss said laughing. He smiled and reached out to grab her. _

"_No!" She shrieked when he managed to wrap his arms around her. He kissed her cheek and began to tickle her. Soon tears were running down her face and her stomach hurt from all the laughter. He chuckled as he released her. She glared at him playfully and threw a book at him. Cato dodged it just in time for it to land on her dresser and slide across onto the floor._

Thump.

He blinked a couple of times as he realized that he was not in District 2. He was not at Katniss' house. He was in the Capitol, and he was never going to see her again. He was on the roof with Lane who had just dropped her book and was now reaching to pick it up when their eyes met. Immediately she dropped her gaze before looking back up at him again. He looked away and turned his attention back onto the scenery before him. Cato didn't flinch when she appeared next to him and spoke.

"Congrats on your score." She said timidly.

"Uh, yeah. You…too." He replied awkwardly. Clearing his throat he tried to break the ice, "So how'd you do it? Getting the 9, I mean."

"Um, I just threw the axe around a little. How about you?" she answered.

"Dismembered dummies." Cato said in a bored tone.

Lane gulped, "Oh…thank you for letting me in on the alliance by the way."

"Why are you thanking me? Marvel's the one that asked you to join." He said indifferently.

"Well you're the leader so it only makes sense." She shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She started to say something but Cato was so enveloped in his thoughts that she was tuned out. He noticed that his memories were always triggered whenever something similar happened in relation to Katniss. He furrowed his eyebrows, he wondered why that was. Just then he noticed that he was finally alone. Lane must have left when she realized that he shipped out. Exhaling he pushed himself off the railing and walked back to the elevator to get back to his room. Maybe sleep was what he needed after all.

* * *

"Ugh! I can't freaking—Cato! Grr!" Clove snapped.

Cato rolled his eyes, "Where?"

"Right in the damn middle." She growled.

He sighed and snatched a hanky from the District 3 male tribute. Placing it over where Clove said was itchy he scratched the fabric until she told him to stop. They were waiting in line for the interviews and her hair was done in style that strands brushed against her back causing her to get itchy and irritable. Cato not wanting to get the worse end of the stick had been scratching the itches that she couldn't reach for her.

A frown was set on her face for the remainder of the wait. As soon as her name was called she was all smiles. On the screen he could tell by the way she gripped her dress that her back started itching again, but you wouldn't have noticed unless you were actually looking for it. Her personality onstage with Caesar was the exact opposite of her real persona and yet she still came out to be threatening and lethal.

When she walked off he could see her reaching back to scratch. She wished him luck as she left to change out of her dress. He nodded in thanks and then waited near the entrance when a peacekeeper motioned for him to step up.

"Cato Perris!" Cato heard him say. He strutted onto the stage and smirked making his way to the chair next to Caesar. Everywhere he looked women were squealing and screaming.

"Well, looks like you're quite popular with the ladies, eh Cato?" Caesar joked.

He played along and chuckled, "I guess so. I don't know why though, I'm not even that good looking." He tested Clove's theory by smiling the way that the girls back home apparently 'fawned' over. The screams got even louder almost deafening, and he saw some women fainting and fanning themselves. _Damn you Clove, _he thought.

"I'm sure everyone here dare I say, disagrees with that." Caesar chuckled, "But enough with the small talk. The question on all of our minds is: Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?"

Almost immediately the crowd became silent. He cleared his throat, "Well I wouldn't say back home…" Cato swore that some people leaned forward in their seats looking as if they were hanging onto his every word.

Caesar's eyebrows rose, "Oh! So is she here in the Capitol then?" he asked excitedly.

Cato back pedaled, "No, but…it's hard to explain." He let out a nervous chuckle. The crowd laughed with him.

"Alright, well moving on then. What made you want to volunteer this year?"

"Other than to win?" Cato joked, "I made a promise. A promise that I intend to keep."

"Interesting, what makes you so confident?" Caesar asked leaning forward himself.

Cato took a deep breath, "Because it's a win-win situation for me right now." He replied seriously.

Everyone seemed to pick up on the somber mood but they didn't understand why. If Cato won then he would have fulfilled his promise to Katniss. If he lost then he would have died trying, but he'd finally get to be with her again.

"How so?"

He didn't want to tell them about her. He didn't want to share Katniss with the world. He felt like they didn't deserve her. Hell, he felt like _he _didn't deserve her. So he told half of the truth.

"If I win the games then I become a victor, but if I die trying then I would've died with honor." It sounded wrong coming off of his tongue but he knew that he had to play along.

Caesar nodded, "Interesting perspective. Best of luck to you Cato and to your special someone." He winked. Cato gave a tight-lipped smile.

"Cato from District 2 everyone!" Caesar said raising their joined hands up in the air.

* * *

A/N: Wooww, longest chapter so far. So I know that it was an awkward place to end but it felt appropriate. Regarding Lane, I know it might seem like she's turning into a Mary-Sue but her relationship with Cato is one-sided. Trust me, I can't imagine writing Cato with anyone else other than Katniss. It would kill me haha. I remember telling one of the other readers that I'm writing somewhat in Cato's POV so everything that's happening we are seeing through his eyes. Following that logic, whatever he believes we believe, whatever he feels we feel and so on though it may not always be correct. As for Katniss, you'll just have to be patient. ;) I love your guy's feedback! Thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing! :)

P.S.

Sorry if there are any errors and mistakes. I haven't slept in like 13 hours so I'm gonna knockout and go back and edit it later. Someone needs to take Skype away from me. ;P

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	9. Are you ready?

"Go Katniss, GO!" he shouted desperately.

They were running away from something but he didn't know what it was just yet. He kept looking back to see if whatever it was had gotten closer but all he could see was the trampled foliage that they had torn through. He faced forward again and he almost froze in his steps. Almost. He reached out and grabbed the hood of Katniss' jacket before she fell over the edge and he let out a sigh of relief. It was short lived though as he saw the expression on her face.

"Cato, behind you!" she yelled pointing over his shoulder. _Peacekeepers? _He thought.

They shot at them and he covered Katniss with his body earning him a burn on his upper back. He growled but otherwise kept his grip on her. They were right at the edge; any step further would send them over. This time they shot at his leg and managed to get right under his knee where the sensitive skin was. His leg buckled under the pain nearly bringing her down with him, he groaned and reached back with his hand out of habit to feel the wound.

Bad move.

He had had let go of her.

Cato whipped his head up to see her falling over the edge. Again.

"NO!" he roared as she screamed.

He got up to go jump in after her but the peacekeepers had gotten a hold of him before he could do so. He thrashed and fought them while they tried to tie him up. Suddenly he felt something sharp pierce his bicep and the last thing he saw was the clearing disappearing from view as they dragged him away, then everything went black.

* * *

As soon as he opened his eyes he regretted it. Sunlight was streaming down right at him. His eyelids fluttered for a bit before they had adjusted to the light. He sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. He sighed. Today he was going into the arena. He wasn't nervous, or scared, or excited, he was just tired. He wanted to get in and get out as fast as possible. He just wanted to get it over with.

Cato had showered, gotten dressed, and was now heading to the dining room for breakfast. For once he was the first one at the table. He started loading his plate thinking that he could eat before everyone came out but all too soon Brutus and Enobaria had joined him, followed by Clove a few seconds after.

"So, you guys ready?" Enobaria said as she stirred some creamer into her coffee.

"We don't need pep talk." Cato stated keeping his eyes on his plate.

Enobaria started to say something but Brutus had cut her off, "The hell you do kid. You look like you have a death wish. I'll be damned if you don't—"

"Don't worry about what _I'm _going to do. Just worry about getting me sponsors, alright?" he said sharply glaring at his uncle.

"Cato…" Enobaria reached for him.

"I'm not hungry anymore." He said dropping his fork. He stood up and walked back to his room slamming the door. Clove who had been sitting next to him quietly eating chewed on her lip.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up as well, "Me neither."

Clove knocked on his door. She could hear things breaking and crashing on the other side. She rolled her eyes, he probably couldn't hear her through all that ruckus. She walked in and quickly dodged a vase that landed right where her head was. Her expression was one of boredom. Clove had seen him like this many times before.

She simply sat on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees under her chin. She started counting in her head to pass the time. …_242…243…244…, _she thought and stopped when she felt one side of the bed dip down. She looked at him as he clenched and unclenched his fists. She began to rub his back to try to calm him down. Her hand touched something wet and she noticed that he was sweating profusely. She grimaced and wiped her hand on the sheets behind him and settled for just patting his arm awkwardly.

"Every time I try to save her I always end up failing because something or someone was in my way. _Why?_" Cato said quietly looking at his hands with a confused expression on his face.

Clove cleared her throat, "Well...why couldn't you save her this time?"

"Peacekeepers. If I had just held on, she wouldn't have fallen. I wasn't strong enough to take the pain." He shook his head slowly.

"Hey, it's not your fault and it was only a dream. You're not entirely in control of yourself whenever you dream. Remember the one where you couldn't move your feet? It's the same thing." She explained.

He sighed and looked at her, "No, it's not. You weren't…there. I _had _her and then I—for some stupid reason let her slip through my fingers."

"Don't think about that right now. Think about it later after you've settled into your new house in Victor's Village." She teased lightly, "After all, right now we've got a game to play."

As they waited in the hovercraft, Cato took a look around. Nearly everyone that wasn't in the career pack this year was literally shaking in their boots. Clove scoffed from beside him and he looked over to see an amused Marvel and a pouting Glimmer. He raised an eyebrow at his best friend but she just shook her head and grinned.

"Give me your arm." Cato heard a voice say.

He looked up to see a woman in a lab coat with a needle the size of a pencil. He stretched his arm and the needle pierced his skin. After she moved onto Clove he noticed the spot emit a soft light through his skin before disappearing. He ran his hand over it but felt no bumps or difference in temperature.

"It's your tracker." Clove said, she had seen him inspecting the spot. Cato nodded to himself before leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees. He chewed on his lip waiting for the hover craft to finally take off. He definitely couldn't wait. _The sooner the games start the sooner they'll be over_, he thought.

* * *

They brought him to a room under the arena to get dressed. He was putting on his jacket when the door opened. Cato was surprised to see that it was Cinna when Portia was his stylist.

"How…?" he asked slowly.

Cinna gave him a small smile, "I thought I'd deliver this to you personally."

He handed him the gold mockinjay pin that Katniss' brother, Kane, had given him.

"Your district token." Cato nodded in thanks and pinned it on the collar of his jacket.

"I knew her." Cinna said quietly.

Cato furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head.

"Katniss," Cinna answered smiling and Cato noticed the way that he had said her name spoke volumes of their relationship. She must have trusted this man. "She's an amazing woman."

Cato smiled a little at that, "She was."

"She spoke of you often, you know. You're exactly as I pictured from her description." Cinna stated knowingly.

"She talked about me?" Cato's eyes flashed to look at him. Cinna noticed how the boy's blue eyes seem to light up at the mention of her. He could tell that Cato was still madly in love with her and he was impressed at his dedication.

"_All _the time. Nice ring by the way, good choice." he complimented.

"Thanks." Cato nodded appreciatively.

"_30 Seconds to launch." _A voice rang out announcing the time.

Cinna stuck out his hand, "Good luck." Cato shook his hand.

As he walked towards the tube he took a deep breath and stepped in. Looking up as the platform began to rise he rolled his neck and stood a little taller prepared for what was waiting for him above.

Cinna watched as the career confidently stepped into the tube without hesitation. He half expected him to turn around like Katniss had but he all he saw was Cato's determined set face. They were opposites in that way, Katniss wore her emotions on her sleeve sometimes but you could only see Cato's emotions if he chose to show them. Right now he looked as if he were mentally prepping himself. Cinna had high hopes for Cato and hoped that he would make it out. He deserved happiness. He wasn't just the brute that everyone saw in public, he was fighting for a cause.

As his figure disappeared from sight Cinna pulled out his phone.

He needed to make a call.

"Brutus…I think there's something we need to talk about…" he said walking out of the launch room.

* * *

Cato had to squint as his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings. The arena appeared to be a forest this year. The cornucopia was in the center of a huge clearing with trees surround three-fourths of the perimeter and a field of tall grass to the north. He could see a break in the trees off in the distance where he assumed a water source would be. He would keep that in mind for use later.

Suddenly a loud booming voice began the countdown.

60

59

58

57

56

Cato looked for his allies and found that Clove was a few tributes down from him, Marvel was all the way across the clearing from him, Glimmer was off to his left, and Lane right next to her.

43

42

He then eyed the weapons that were scattered around the place and spotted a machete about ten yards from him. He could use it temporarily until he got to his sword.

30

29

He took another breath to steady himself.

26

25

He leaned forward slightly getting ready to sprint off.

22

21

20

_You got this Cato, _he thought to himself.

17

16

15

Another deep breath.

12

11

He leaned forward on the balls of his feet.

9

8

_You can do this…_

7

6

5

…_for Katniss._

3

2

1

Cato shot off the pedestal and ran for the machete straight into the bloodbath.

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She opened her eyes and groaned looking for the source of the annoying noise. She noticed the sound came from the left and realized that it was a heart rate monitor that was emitting the _beep._ She frowned. Where was she? The setup of the room did not look like any hospital that she'd ever been to. The walls were gray and the room only had a few cabinets, a sink in the corner, and a chair by her bed. Just then the door opened to reveal a nurse holding a clip board.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked checking her IV bag. She scribbled a few things on her clip board.

"I'm…fine. Where am I?" she asked looking around again. The nurse ignored her question. After writing some more things down, she abruptly left the room. _Rude, _she thought to herself. A few moments later the door opened again, President Snow had come.

"You've finally woken up." He said sitting in the chair next to her bed. She coughed as the stench of blood and roses assaulted her nose.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked timidly.

"A long time."

* * *

A/N: Another long chappie for you guys. Just so you know I left the italics off on purpose :). Don't worry you'll get your reunion! I'm actually excited now, the fun stuff is just beginning ;). I've been waiting to start posting chapters about the games. Can you say drama? There'll be A LOT of that coming up soon. Again many thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! :))

*Individual thanks to **Strawberryluv**! I would normally thank you through PM but you're an anon reviewer so THANK YOU, I'm glad you like my story so far :)!

Til' next time.

~Alis-May


	10. Promise

"_Stop! Hahaha, please stop!" I yelled. "Cato!" _

_I laughed so hard barely anything came out and I was red in the face. It was futile as I tried swatting away his hands. I hated how he knew I was ticklish and exploited it whenever he saw fit._

"_Then give me one more…" He said grinning, he loved being in control. _

"_No!" I let out a squeal again, "Cato please!"_

_He laughed but eventually gave in and just settled for pinning my arms above my head on the pillow. I let out a sigh finally being able to breathe freely, as he just stared at me intently from above._

"_Just one kiss Kat, that's all I'm asking." Cato said softly leaning in closer staring at my lips. I allowed him to skim his nose against mine, but when he closed in on my lips I turned my head to the left last minute. _

_I laughed as his lips met my cheek, then I felt him smile and lift his head to look at me. I smirked at him defiance in my eyes._

"_I said 'no' Cato." I drawled, baiting him._

"_Why?" He whined purposely making his voice higher. I kissed the tip of his nose and his chin teasing him some more._

"_There you go, I gave you two." I said smiling. _

_Cato pouted trying to look disgruntled, "You know what I mean…"_

"_Mmm, no I really don't." _

_He sighed, "I guess I'm just going to have to show you then huh?" this time when he leaned in to kiss me I didn't turn away. _

_As his soft lips moved against my own I bit his lip to deepen the kiss but I felt him smile and give me a quick peck before he pulled away. _

_I frowned, "Hey come back here, I'm not finished with you yet." I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he only tightened his grip._

"_See, two can play at this game Kat." His grin was smug._

"_Fine." I huffed and stared at the ceiling with a blank face. _

_Cato tried to move into my line of vision but I just averted my gaze and gave him the silent treatment. He furrowed his eyebrows and released my arms. I simply folded them across my chest still ignoring him._

_He groaned, "Katniss…" he mumbled burying his face into my neck and wrapping his arms around waist while tangling his legs with mine. I heard a muffled "I'm sorry" a few minutes later followed by a few light kisses on my collarbone, neck, and cheek. I bit my lip to hide my smile but otherwise turned my head to look away from him. _

"_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" he says between kisses. I couldn't hold it in anymore. _

_I giggled and hugged him back, "Okay I get it." I kiss his smiling lips._

"_I knew you couldn't stay mad at me." He smirked._

_I raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? What makes you say that?"_

_He propped himself up on one elbow looking down at me, his other hand playing with my hair. "Because you love me." _

"_You think that's a good enough reason?" I teased poking his cheek._

"_Well…I love you too so, it works." Cato grinned while I rolled my eyes._

"_Whoa whoa whoa, what's with the attitude?" he asked jokingly._

_I stuck my tongue out at him, "Live with it babe."_

_He chuckles, "Alright, fine. I wouldn't mind living with you…" _

_I smacked his chest, "Not like that." He laughs again and I join in this time._

"_Why not? I know the perfect place for us." His lips quirk in amusement. _

_I humor him, "Where would that be then?" I ask gazing at him intently as he looked off to the side in thought._

"_We'd live in District 4." Cato said, his voice sounding far away. "Right on the beach since I know how much you love to swim. Our house would have a porch facing the ocean so that we could see the sunset or sunrise whenever we want. It'd be secluded too just in case we want a little more privacy. There'd be two kids, a boy and a girl running around splashing in the water as we walk behind them hand in hand…"_

_I found myself getting lost in the blue of his eyes imagining the life he described._

"_That sounds nice." I say dreamily and he snaps out of his trance looking at me again._

_Cato smiles, "One day Katniss, I promise. You'll see," he wraps his arms around me again, "We'll have all of that and more."_

_I close my eyes snuggle closer into him, "Whatever you say Cato…"_

The next morning I woke up to the phone ringing. I sighed and threw the covers off of my legs before getting up to answer. Turns out it wasn't a call, it was just a voice message from the President's office asking me to see him. I rubbed my eyes tiredly and trudged to the bathroom.

As I stood under the shower I let my thoughts wander. _It could still happen,_ Ithought.

I remembered that day clearly. I smiled to myself at the memory. It was one of those lazy days where I didn't feel like training and I had convinced Cato to ditch with me. We had spent the whole day at my house just hanging out in my room cuddling and watching movies.

I sighed as I thought about how naïve we were and how much Cato was promising. Then again though, if he won then we could still live out that dream.

Turning off the water I wrapped a towel around myself. Checking the time I cursed as I realized that I only had less than half an hour to pick an outfit and get dressed before having to meet with Snow.

I quickly stepped onto the dryer and shimmied on a dark blue sleeveless cowl-neck dress with matching cream pumps. Eyeing myself in the mirror once more, I left my temporary apartment and got into the car that the President had sent for me.

I walked with determined footsteps to President Snow's office. Taking a deep breath I opened the door and stepped in.

"Ah, there you are. Please have a seat." Snow said, "If I remember correctly you requested to see your family, yes?"

I nodded nervously, "Yes. I just want to visit them. It will be a short trip." They were one of the first things I thought of when I woke up a few days ago.

Snow narrowed his eyes in contemplation, "Very well. But I have a few conditions, your visit may raise some unwanted risks so…" he continued and explained the rest of the offer.

My eyes widened and I had to fight some tears at what he had just said.

"Do we have a deal then?"

A lump was growing in my throat so I swallowed before answering, "Yes."

He smiled, "Excellent. You may go now."

I stood up stiffly and squared my shoulders walking out of his office. My face was blank the entire way back to my apartment up until I reached my room.

Once I was alone, I leaned on the dresser and put my head in my hands. I began to cry softly at first, but then it escalated to a heart-wrenching sob. I was supposed to get my happy ending with Cato but I knew it was never going to happen, not after what Snow had said.

After a moment I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and opened my jewelry box. I picked up the silver ring promise ring and eyed it before putting it on the finger it belonged to. I felt my hands shake as I slipped it on. Stretching my arm out to look at the beautiful piece of jewelry adorning my ring finger, I covered my mouth with my other hand in awe at how perfect it looked on me.

I cried again because I couldn't wear it.

I was forbidden to.

I couldn't let Snow know about him.

He would just take Cato away from me if he found out.

As the Avoxes came to pack up my belongings I quickly slid the ring onto a thin chain and wore it as a necklace. Tucking it under the top of my dress I took one last look behind me and walked out leaving all of my past hopes and dreams behind.

* * *

A/N: Ta-da! Here it is the most awaited Katniss POV! I was actually going to hold off on posting a Katniss POV until the middle of the games but you guys kept asking for it so...I typed one up for you guys real quick, hence the shortness :P. Persistance pays off I guess aha. I already started typing up the next chapter so that will be coming out in a few days. As for reviews you guys are AMAZING! I love reading them :). I'm running short on time at the moment because I'm about to head out but I'll be answering your reviews in the next chapter, promise! Again thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows! :))

P.S. Sorry if there are any mistakes, wrote this in about half an hour. I'll probably go back and edit when I get home so yeah...

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	11. Shut Up Glimmer

"Ugh, but Cato!" Glimmer whined.

Cato ran a hand over his face and sighed, "What Glimmer?" he asked impatiently.

He was so sick of hearing her voice complain about every little thing they've done so far. It started about half an hour ago when they cleared out to let the hovercrafts pick up the bodies from the bloodbath.

"I thought _I _was getting the bow!" her voice shrilled.

Clove rolled her eyes, "Can you even shoot?" she drawled lazily. She was getting fed up as well.

"Of course I can!" Glimmer huffed.

"Fine. Lane give the bow to Glimmer." Cato said tiredly, "Here." He handed her an axe. Lane nodded and secured it to her weapons belt.

"Alright. Clove, sort the food. Lane, sort the clothes, Marvel, sort the other supplies, and Glimmer, gather up all the bags and weapons around the cornucopia. I'll sort out the weapons." Cato announced. Everyone except Glimmer nodded and began to sort out their respected things.

Glimmer latched onto his arm, "Cato…_I _wanted to sort out the clothes! How come—"

Suddenly Glimmer shrieked as a knife came whizzing past her head slicing a couple of strands off one of her pigtails.

"If you don't shut up, I will cut off your tongue, roast it over a fire, and make you eat it." Clove hissed as she picked up her knife. Glimmer nodded quickly and scurried off to get the scattered supplies.

Around what appeared to be midday the cannons announcing the deaths of the day shot out. Clove counted them off on her fingers. 12.

Marvel let out a low whistle, "Half of the competition gone." He smirked.

"In about a week so will the other half." Everyone except Cato turned to look at Clove. She didn't look up from what she was doing though. Marvel's smirk had disappeared, Glimmer looked frightened again, and Lane just gulped.

Suddenly they heard a screeching noise coming from Cato's direction. They looked over to see him sliding two swords against each other.

"Get back to work." He said grimly and returned back to his piles. Everyone else looked at each other briefly before going back to what they were doing.

Soon it was dark and all of the supplies at the Cornucopia were sorted and separated into piles. Just then the seal of the Capitol lit up the virtual night sky and the anthem played showing the faces of the dead.

Lane looked patiently at the sky to see if her newly found friend and district partner had survived the first night. When she didn't see his face she relaxed. She felt eyes on her and she looked up to see Clove with a raised eyebrow staring pointedly at her. Lane swallowed and blinked a few times before looking away. Clove just narrowed her eyes but otherwise went back to sharpening her knives.

"I'll take first watch." Cato said sitting across the fire from her.

Clove didn't look up, she simply sat there continuing to sharpen her already deadly knives. Cato threw a piece of fruit at her head. Before it could hit her she raised her knife in the air slicing it in half. She glared at him while he smirked. He wanted her attention and he got it.

"I said…I'll take first watch." He repeated himself.

She rolled her eyes, "I heard you the first time. I'm not tired."

"Fine, suit yourself."

After a few minutes Clove spoke.

"So what's the plan?" she asked putting her knife in one of her many jacket pockets.

Cato sighed, "Why are you asking me, you're the brains remember? I just supply the muscles."

Clove blinked at him slowly, "Amusing. Seriously, what are we doing?"

"Well I was thinking that we go scouting for the lake tomorrow. I saw an outline this morning through the trees. When the alliance is over we'll have a secure water source." He answered.

She nodded, "Sounds good. Speaking of alliances though, how are we going get rid of the others? I'm pretty sure we'll meet up with them again eventually."

Cato bit his lip in thought, "I haven't thought that far yet. We'll figure that out later…you sure you're not tired?" he asked again.

Clove smirked, "I'm fine. I still got about a couple more hours in me."

"Alright then. I'm turning in. Wake me up if something happens."

She nodded in response and he disappeared into the mouth of the Cornucopia.

* * *

"If you need anything Miss Everdeen we have Avoxes stationed in the kitchen." Snow's assistant said gesturing towards the far side of the room.

Katniss nodded in thanks.

"If that's all, good day Miss Everdeen." The woman said walking out of the apartment.

Katniss took another look around her new living arrangement and sighed. It was much too big for her. Everything was so spacious. Teal colored walls with a huge window overlooking the Capitol. The kitchen was probably the only reasonably sized area in the entire apartment. She didn't even want to know what the bathrooms would look like. There were even two bedrooms, each hosting a king-sized bed. What the other one was for, she had no idea…that is until she heard the front door opening.

She turned around to see a dirty-blonde haired male with beautiful eyes. They made eye contact and his smile was breathtaking. Katniss' jaw dropped as she recognized who he was. He looked so different in person. She shook her head a couple of times to get a sentence out.

"Katniss Everdeen." She said walking up to him.

He simply smirks and his eyes twinkle, "I know who you are, but since we're being polite. I'm…"

* * *

A/N: _So sorry _I had to end it there but that's a little of what I've written so far. School started up a few days ago and I'm already loaded with homework. _Why _I decided to take Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, and AP Language Arts my junior year, I'll _never _understand…not to mention sports _ugh. _ANYWAYS, I'll try to post something over the weekend that's much longer and more like what you guys are used to getting. I just wanted you guys to see what happened after the Cornucopia and a little bit of Katniss' situation. Who do _you _think the mystery guy is? Leave your guesses in a review :). Thanks again for the follows, favs, and reviews guys! Seriously you're all amazing and I will NOT be giving up on this story, PROMISE :))!

Til' next time.

~Alis-May

* * *

P.S. I'm going to start thanking and replying to the reviews on here because I'm getting some Anons. So if you left a review, here's my response to you guys! If you didn't then feel free to skip this.

**Big Thanks to- **xxPaige23xx, .United, and Strawberryluv for the reviews!

**Cato Lover 101: **Honestly you are one of the most dedicated readers I have and I'm soo sorry for the late update! I'll make the next one extra long just for you ;). Thanks for the review, it definitely helped motivate me.

**Bellanator116: **If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise ahah.


	12. Revelations

"I'm Finnick Odair." He smiled shaking her hand.

Katniss nodded, "Nice to meet you."

She had heard of him before but now actually meeting him in person was completely different than what she heard the girls at home say. He was definitely charming but he wasn't as irresistible as people had said. Sure he was good looking, had a voice to die for, had the body of a god…but she couldn't bring herself to find him attractive. In fact he paled in comparison to another blonde boy that she was thinking of.

"Pleasure is all mine." He lifted her hand to his lips kissing it. Katniss gave a disgusted look and pulled her hand back almost snatching it away.

She wiped the back of her hand off on her dress, "Right…well. I'm sure you're well informed on the situation?"

Finnick nodded, "Yes and I just have to say that I am so grateful to you. Thank you so much, really. If it wasn't for you I'd still be on the boards." He grinned and she smiled a little in return.

"You're welcome but I didn't really have a choice." Katniss shrugged.

"I promise we'll only need to put up the front in public. Behind closed doors we are merely acquaintances, agreed?" he asked.

"That sounds about right. Glad we've discussed that. As for physical contact in public…I don't really like PDA so it'll just be little things alright? Like handholding and hugging, but that's it." She clarified.

He laughed and leaned closer, "So no kissing?" She raised an eyebrow as his sea colored eyes flicked to her lips.

"Kidding!" Finnick said backing up.

Katniss shook her head and rolled her eyes her hands reaching towards the ring around her neck, but she quickly caught herself before actually pulling it out. She glanced at him to see if he noticed. Apparently he did.

His eyebrows rose this time, "That's why. You got someone special huh?" Finnick folded his arms across his chest.

She sighed and sat down on the couch and gestured for him to sit as well. Finnick sat down and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees.

Katniss licked her lips, "Technically I'm not supposed to because Snow doesn't know. He _can't_ know. So you can't tell anyone okay?" she pleaded.

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me. I can relate." He shrugged.

She furrowed her eyebrows, "You can?"

"Yeah, Snow doesn't know about her either. Do you remember Annie Cresta?" Finnick asked.

"She won by swimming and then went a little off the path after the games."

"Mhm. She also happens to be the love of my life." He said quietly.

Katniss couldn't help but scoff a little, "Finnick Odair is a one woman man? Who would've thought?"

He rolled his eyes, "Don't _you _go telling everyone now."

She laughed, "I won't if you won't."

"Deal. So what were you reaching for?" Finnick pointed with his chin towards her chest.

"This." Katniss sighed and pulled the chain revealing the ring.

He eyed it, "You're…engaged?"

"Not exactly. It's a promise ring."

Finnick nodded, "It's beautiful. Whoever your guy is, he's got great taste. What's he like?"

Katniss smiled slightly at his compliment. "Cato is…everything to me," she bit her lip, "he was a little rough around the edges but he was charming when he wanted to be. He was very strong, and not just physically but emotionally. I couldn't count the amount of times where I needed him for support." Her eyes glazed over as she remembered that they couldn't be together.

She sniffed and took a deep breath, "What's Annie like?"

A smile made its way across Finnick's face, "She's absolutely—"

Just then his phone rang, checking the caller ID he sighed. "I have to take this but when I come back I'll tell you all about her over dinner tonight, sound good?" he asked.

Katniss nodded and gave a timid smile in response. Finnick grinned and answered his phone walking into his room. His voice became muffled as the door shut behind him. She sighed, _maybe this isn't so bad after all_.

* * *

**BOOM. **

A cannon went off and Cato bounded through the trees into the campsite.

"Did you get him?" Clove asked handing him his canteen.

"Yeah, that little shit was fast though so I couldn't really enjoy my kill. He had it coming. Stupid District Fi—AHHH FUCK!" Cato shouted.

Clove had poured some sanitizer in a deep cut on his upper arm while he was talking. She rolled her eyes at him, "Crybaby."

He inhaled sharply when Clove tied a rag around the gash pulling it tight creating a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. It was crude but it would do its job. He moved his left arm in circles trying to get use to the restriction on his muscles.

It was the fifth day and the games were coming to an end. Cato was almost home, he was so close. Just a few more tributes and then he would be done. He didn't think that it would take him this long but it proved difficult when he had to kill marvel. He was almost a friend to him, but Glimmer…he had no qualms about snapping her neck.

"There are only six—wait no, five more tributes left. Us three, the girl from five, and the boy from eight." Cato said wincing.

Lane noticing his discomfort offered him water and he gladly took it. It was times like these that the redheaded girl didn't annoy him. When she was just being helpful and silent was when she was tolerable, but every time he was nice to her she took it the wrong way. Lane had a strange tendency to take things overboard when it came to Cato. A simple thanks or smirk immediately made her think that he was interested, when really he was just being polite. Clove always got a good laugh whenever Lane tried too hard to get Cato's attention.

"We're so close Clove, so close. Just a few more and then…" Clove swallowed thickly and nodded realizing what he couldn't say, "This plan doesn't sound so fool proof anymore does it?" Cato continued.

"It still is, you're still going to win. Nothing's changed Cato. You're going to accomplish what we set out to do." Clove stated staring at a knife she had in her hand. Lane furrowed her eyebrows at their conversation. She had remained quiet for most of it but she was curious now as to what they were referring to.

"What does she mean?" Lane asked Cato, since Clove seemed to have spaced out for the time being.

"Don't worry about it, it doesn't concern you." He replied lazily standing up.

"Actually it does considering the fact that I happen to be with you guys."

"Oh, so that makes you my friend now?" Cato shot back sarcastically, "This isn't some camping trip where people come to learn things about other people. This is the _Hunger Games_ where people are supposed to die so that one can win. There is no time for whatever heart-to-heart talk that you want!"

Lane exhaled sharply and stood up to face him. Why was he being such a jerk to her all of a sudden? She just asked a simple question.

"I know that! I just want—"

"You just want what? An explanation? Like I said, it doesn't concern _you._ So fuck off."

"Would it kill you to just let someone in for once?!" Lane yelled angrily finally fed up.

She couldn't understand why Cato always acted like a clam—all shut up and isolated. All she wanted was to see the sensitive guy that she was sure in there with him and the rare pooling of emotions that she swore she saw in his beautiful icy blue eyes.

You could say that Lane was attracted to him. Well that was an understatement, she really liked him. She didn't love him though—that was too strong for what she was feeling. She liked his strength, bravery, his confidence and how he held himself, and he wasn't horrible to look at either. At times like this though when he was being difficult and shutting her out refusing to talk, or just treating her like she didn't exist sometimes annoyed her.

Hence the reason why she was yelling at him now, "You don't have to be such an asshole all the time Cato!" Lane fumed. She was getting sick of his bipolar attitude of being nice one minute and then ignoring her the next.

Clove's eyes widened at district seven's outburst and let out a low whistle knowing that Lane had struck the chink in Cato's armor. She could already tell that her yelling had stroked his temper earlier and insulting him only made it worse.

No one yelled at Cato. Ever. Unless they wanted a death wish.

Cato turned around and looked at Lane with an emotionless look on his face, but his blue eyes seem to blaze with anger through his stoic mask. He took a few steps towards her and leaned in so that their faces were inches apart.

"You have _no _idea what I've been through." Cato said harshly.

Lane gulped at the venom in his voice, but stood her ground.

"I know that you act like—"

"You. Don't. Know. Anything." He said coldly then turned around. Angrily grabbing his sword and pack, he walked away briskly from their campsite.

Clove raised her eyebrows, then cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "Well good job alienating you're only ally in the games. You're lucky that he didn't snap your neck this time."

Lane could feel tears of rejection burning behind her lids but she would not cry in front of Clove. She looked weak enough as it is, so she sniffed and faced the only other tribute in the clearing.

"It's about time he put you in your place. I could tell that he was getting fed up with your little crush. Girls pined over him in District Two all the time sweetie, so you're nothing special." Clove said indifferently while scraping the dirt from under her nails with one of her many knives.

Lane leveled a glare at her fellow tribute. "Sounds to me like you're jealous Clove."

Clove started at the accusation, and her head snapped up to look at the girl. Then all of a sudden, she scoffed, followed by a snicker, and then let out a loud peal of laughter. For a second there, Lane thought that she had gone insane and was starting to back up, but Clove stopped after a few moments.

"You're funny, ha." She straightened herself out, "But no, Cato is more of a brother to me. I've known him for quite a while actually, we trained together for years. I know why he acts the way he does, and the reasons why he does things. I even know the reason why he allowed you to live this long just in case you were wondering." Clove announced with an all-knowing smirk.

"He said I was a good asset to the alliance." Lane said narrowing her eyes.

Clove scoffed, "Did he now? Well he lied."

Lane frowned, and here she thought that she was useful when really she was living on Cato's patience. "Then why is he still keeping me around?"

"He has his reasons." The Career simply stated.

"I gathered that." She said rolling her eyes, "I meant _what _is his reason?"

Clove furrowed her eyebrows as if she was deep in thought. The way she was absent-mindedly playing with her knife led Lane to believe that she did this often when calculating something. Clove thought about the many different ways that this conversation headed and she decided on the one that would get Cato the most sponsors. After some time, she sighed and set her knife down.

"I might as well tell you so you can stop mulling over him. You remind him of somebody." She finally said. Clove figured that it sounded close to the truth so she continued on with the ploy.

Lane followed suit, "Who?"

"He's going to kill me for telling you, but I was meant to die anyways."

It was her turn to look confused, "What do you mean 'meant to die'?"

Clove's face suddenly looked much more somber, "Cato _has_ to win. He just has to."

"Why? What'll happen if he doesn't? Does he get punished?" Lane asked.

Clove blinked, waiting.

"Oh, stupid question sorry." Lane said quietly realizing her mistake. If Cato didn't win of course he'd have to be dead, that seemed like a bad enough punishment.

"He has to win the games because he feels that he needs to redeem himself." She continued, "It's his last year and he's trained hard for nearly all of his life for it, _especially _these past couple of years."

Lane's eyebrows shot up at the word 'especially'. "What happened?" She asked bringing her knees to her chest.

"His world ended."

Little did Clove know, the object of their discussion was only 50 feet away sitting at the bottom of a tree with his head in his hands. He could still hear them. His anger was getting the best of him again. It was a good thing he left before he broke something or in this case, someone.

Cato growled. How dare she? How dare she judge him. How dare she accuse him of being closed off when she didn't even know the reason! He learned his lesson about opening himself up and it always ended badly. He opened his heart to Katniss and look where that left him. Heartbroken. Alone. He opened up his friendship to Clove and where was that heading? He was going to be alone, again.

He was sick of opening up to people just to have them taken away from him. He should've learned his lesson the very first time but he thought it would be different with Clove. As if he wasn't already devastated enough when Katniss died. Cato's heart throbbed in pain as the all too sharp memory seared through his brain bringing up the unwanted feelings that he had pushed to the back of his mind. Her death. Just as Clove was explaining the story the scene replayed in his head like a movie.

"_Don't Katniss! Watch out!" Cato shouted but his cry fell on deaf ears. Katniss took a step back losing her footing sending her over the edge of the bluff to plummet to her watery death. Her screams echoed in his head, begging for him to save her. The camera simply took a sky shot of her reaching out towards it, eyes wide, falling. _

_BOOM._

No. No. No. No. No. No. _Cato thought desperately._

"_NOOO!" he roared almost deafeningly. _

_He lunged for the monitor smashing the projector and then went for completely ripping it apart. That wasn't enough release for him though. Cato began to throw things around, breaking tables, chairs, whatever his hands could grab. Vases and decors flying left and right shattering all around. Glass was raining down from all of the impacts of the objects colliding with the walls and floors. He started punching the walls creating holes of different shapes and sizes everywhere._

"_KATNISS!" Cato screamed collapsing on the ground in a heap, gripping his hair roughly with his hands, pulling as if he could take out the memory that would forever be burned into his brain._

_He rocked back and forth sobbing and shouting at the world until his voice was gone and his throat burned. In the distance he could hear his mother calling people on the phone and his sister's own sobs but he didn't care. He felt like his world was crumbling in on him and he could do nothing to stop it. Her death replaying over and over in his mind. Cato didn't know how long he sat there in the middle of the damaged living room with tears falling endlessly down his face before he felt someone touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Clove with a red puffy face, she was crying for Katniss as well. She tugged on his arm and he stood up, staggering backwards at first at the sudden use of his legs. _

_That's when he noticed that all of their friends along with Katniss' family were here as well. Her mother was leaning heavily on her husband as if she couldn't stand up on her own. Poor little Kane, only twelve at the time, was hugging onto his father too. All of them were crying. He couldn't take it, seeing them like this. He had been selfish. He may have lost the love of his life, but they had lost a daughter. Their hearts were probably just as torn as his. _

_Clove led him to his bedroom and shut the door behind her. She then turned around and opened her arms, he gladly walked into them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gently rubbed his back. He made no move to hug her though, he was too tired. Too broken. Clove pulled away after a moment and they sat on his bed both staring at something far away._

"_Hurricane Cato?" she said quietly referring to the mess outside. _

_Cato gave a small shrug and swallowed, "I…" he started to say but his throat closed up again and he choked on the rage that started building up again._

"_Just let it out." He looked at her then, "Go, do it." She urged pulling her feet up on the bed resting her elbows on her knees. _

_Cato stood up and walked over to his dresser slowly. He scooped up everything in his arms before gently putting it on the bed next to Clove. She eyed the pile. Picture frames, little mementos, and a handful of crinkled pieces of papers in different sizes, colors, and shapes. She reached out and picked up a picture of him and Katniss tracing her fingers over their smiling faces. Cato was holding the end of Katniss' braid on top of his lip so it looked like he had a brown moustache, while Katniss held her index finger up under nose with a black smudge that was suppose to resemble a moustache as well. Clove nearly dropped the frame when she felt the bed jerk. She looked up to find that Cato was pushing his bed towards the farthest corner in his room so that she'd be away from the carnage. After some grunting from his side he strode purposefully to the other side of his room and continued what he started in the living room. This time though, he didn't yell. He didn't have the voice for it anymore, but he still cried. _

_Once he was finished destroying everything that wasn't of much importance to him he leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor into a sitting position. His head lolling to the side in exhaustion. Clove got up and walked over to his closet where he kept a first aid kit. She brought it over to him and immediately started to treat his bloodied knuckles, cuts, and scrapes. Not once did he make a sound of pain or discomfort. He was in so much emotional pain that everything was numb. He felt nothing. All you could hear was him sniffling every once in a while and his heavy breathing. _

"_I'm done." He said so quietly that Clove had to strain just to hear him._

"_With?" she asked still bandaging his injuries._

_He cleared his throat wincing as he did, "Everything. All of this. I'm done crying. She wouldn't have wanted me to keep showing my weakness." _

"_Showing emotion is not being weak Cato, you know that." Clove retorted._

"_I don't care. Not once did she show any weakness in the games and neither will I." he replied fiercely._

"_But you're not in the games…" She said slowly looking at him._

"_We fight and yet we're not in the games Clove. That's why we train. I need to train to be strong. I_ need _to be stronger." _

"_You_ are _strong." She went back to dabbing at his arms wiping off the excess blood._

_He shook his head, "No. I'm weak Clove. No tribute from District Two should have acted like I did tonight."_

"_Cato what are you saying? You're not just a tribute. Right now, you're just a sixteen-year-old boy that lost his girlfriend. I think you're allowed to grieve." Clove snapped._

"_I'm done with that. Katniss would have wanted me to continue to train so that I can volunteer and keep my end of our promise and win for her. So that's what I'll do. I'll train. I'll volunteer. I'll win the games. All for her. And when I'm a victor, that's when I'll allow my weakness to take over. Until then," he said his hands clenching into fists, "I need to focus on training."_

_Clove stared at him and her eyes started to water. He had become one of them. He had become one of those boys that would foolishly go in just to prove that they could win. No matter what the reason was, she was pretty sure that Katniss would not want him to alienate himself into a cold-hearted career stereotype._

_Cato had finally cracked under the pressure and no one was there to fix him anymore. _

_Katniss was gone. _

_The sixteen-year-old boy that she had first seen crumpled on the floor with tear rimmed eyes and water stained cheeks was gone. _

_He had died alongside Katniss. _

"He's been that way ever since." Clove finished. She bit her lip and blinked a couple of times to hold back her emotions.

Lane stared at the ground awestruck at the tragedy. He had loved someone and she had died in the games. She was right. He _was _capable of emotions other than anger and rage. Though her heart wept for him at his loss, she was a bit crestfallen that he hadn't moved on. Two years had past…it looked like he never would.

Cato let out a deep breath. He'd never admit it to anyone that asked but it was painful to hear the recount of Katniss' death from his best friend's point of view. He had changed. Drastically. He already knew that but he didn't realize that it wasn't in a good way. If it wasn't for Clove's persistent nature he would have already pushed her away. What had he become? This was definitely not what Katniss would have wanted, though he was sure that she would've been glad to have him back in any way, shape, or form.

He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. Standing up he gathered his belongings again and trudged back to the campsite. As he entered the clearing, he noticed that Clove was deep in thought and Lane seemed to be a little spaced out as well. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and Lane's eyes shot up to meet his. Clove was still out of it.

"Cato—" Lane started standing up. She was interrupted though by Clove's shushing.

The career stood up abruptly and narrowed her eyes staring off into the forest as if trying to focus on something. Cato tried to listen for anything out of the ordinary while Lane tried not to panic at their alertness. Howling could be heard in the distance when suddenly two cannons shot out simultaneously announcing the death of the other tributes in the area. Immediately, the sky began to darken.

"The finale…" Clove said quietly and looked at Cato.

* * *

A/N: So a large time skip because honestly, I was getting bored with the games. Nothing really happens during the games anyways, but now the fun _really _begins ;). As for the mystery man, some of you were right! It was the one and only Finnick Odair. Hopefully my drive to write the Catoniss reunion will make me update faster, fingers crossed aha. Hopefully Katniss' death scene was up to par, I listened to 'In My Veins' by Andrew Belle to get the mood going. For a better sense of the scene you should listen to it while you read, nearly cried when I reread my work. It's a great Catoniss song! x). Thanks a honey bunches of oats for the reviews, follows, and faves! You guys are amazing as _always_ :).

Til next time.

~Alis-May

* * *

_**The Review Corner**_

**ILuvMyFangPlushie: **Yes, you were correct. :)

**RandomFandoms: **I hope this was enough for you? Haha. Glad to hear you like it! Thanks :).

**Cato Lover 101: **How is that for long? :). Multi-tasking is key lol. I'll probably update once a week now that I've planned out the rest of my semester, so no more long updates. Whoo! :D

**Strawberryluv: **It's alright, I would have thought Peeta too since a lot of people ship both Peenis and Catoniss but to be honest. I don't like Peeta with Katniss all that much, he's too soft for her. Anyways, thank you for your review! I love how you notice the little things about Cato, makes my day :) haha. And good luck to you as well!

**xxPaige23xx: **Thank you! I hope you liked it :).

**Bellanator116: **Yep, you were right aha. And the deal will be revealed very soon, in a couple of chapters or so. I'm not sure where they'll be just yet but Peeta and Gale will definitely make an appearance in this story. Prim will be in it too, but not as Katniss' little sister. Thanks for the feedback! I hope this chapter didn't disappoint :).


	13. The Finale

"Shit." Cato cursed.

The mutts were gaining on them. Clove was first with Lane in front of him, and they were currently being hunted by mutts. They were headed towards the Cornucopia since that was obviously where the finale usually took place. He had to admit given the circumstances, Lane was pretty fast for a girl from District 7. That didn't mean that he was any less irritated with her though because of earlier. Just then, Lane stumbled and regained her footing but at a price. Cato nearly sped right past her, tripping as well allowing the mutts to get a noticeable amount closer to him. He could feel their breath on the back of his neck, which meant that Lane was probably right in the jaws of death right now. She had trailed behind after losing her momentum.

"Ahh!" Lane yelled. A Mutt had clawed the back of her calf. The muscles and tendons on her right leg felt like they were on fire. She slowed down and soon she was surrounded by mutts gaining on either side of her. _Arf!_ A mutt to her left yelped as Cato's sword slashed trying to get to Lane. Why was he saving her?

"Come on, we're almost there!" Cato pushed, dragging her by the hand and blocking attacks from the mutts with his other. He could see Clove's outline clearly now that the light from the clearing shown through the perimeter of the tree line. Cato looked back to see how close the mutts were and he got a good look, but a price. One had scratched him in the face close to his eye momentarily distracting him. He grunted in pain as another mutt ripped the sword from his hand simultaneously.

"Fuck!" He growled. Having heard his cry, Clove looked back to see the pair barely dodging the mutations. Here eyes widened even more when she took in Cato's battered form. She sucked in a breath and aimed one of her knives at the mutt closest to him. After it fell another appeared in its spot.

"You've got to be fucking me!" Clove said aggravated. She sent more of her knives taking them out and it seemed to be working until she saw a mutt throw himself at Cato's back causing him to fall. Lane had fallen as well, but Clove could care less when her best friend was injured. She didn't want to win without him, _he _was supposed to win this year for Katniss. She wasn't about to lose another one of her closest friends. With that thought Clove sprinted back shooting knives left and right trying to get the damn mutts far enough away from Cato in time for her to get to him.

"Go!" she yelled to Lane. They other girl did a double take and then nodded and took off for the Cornucopia. Clove shook her head briefly, she never would have done that but she had gotten to know Lane. She hated to admit it to herself but the girl was growing on her.

"Cato!" She screamed, he hadn't moved since he fell but luckily no cannon was fired. As Clove got closer she heard him grunt.

"Clove…what are you doing…?"

In another circumstance she would have laughed at his stupid question but instead she replied with, "What the hell does it look like? I'm saving your ass!"

When she helped him up she noticed that the area was cleared out for now. She had gotten all of them. Clove sighed in relief and started to run with her hands against Cato's back, pushing him forward like she used to when they were children. Only now it wasn't for fun, it was life or death. _At least they didn't get his legs, _she thought.

Her relief was quickly replaced with panic and fear when she heard howling coming from a distance much closer then she was comfortable with.

"Damn it." Cato muttered and tried to speed up.

The next howl they heard had a scream accompanying it. Cato looked back to see Clove trying to shake off a mutt that had managed to latch itself to her arm.

"Clove!" he yelled going back. There were about three mutts coming up behind her.

"No! Don't!" Clove yelled back, "Go Cato, go! Go! NOW!"

He was conflicted, he knew what Clove was sacrificing and he would deny it later but he started tearing up. Clove noticed his hesitation again and threatened him if he came back to help her.

"If you don't get your ass to the Cornucopia right now I will haunt you!" She screeched. Cato was so close to winning and she would make damn sure that he would.

"I can't just—" Cato started.

She cut him off, "No! Don't you _dare _help me! It's the only way Cato!"

He bit his lip and fought all of his instincts to go back for her and pressed on.

"I'll miss you Clove..." he whispered and a single tear made its way down his face.

**BOOM.**

His breath caught as the cannon fired and he spared a glance turning around. Cato gritted his teeth as yet another person he cared for left him. He made it to the Cornucopia and scrambled up on the side to see Lane walking up to him.

Lane knew how close Cato and Clove were, she reached out to comfort him but he brushed her off and sat down. He pulled his legs up to his chest and roughly grabbed his hair, resting his elbows on his knees. Lane could hear Cato breathing deeply trying to regain his breath ad calm down. Her heart broke at the sight of him looking defeated even if he was about to win.

"Cato, it's okay—" she said softly, but was soon scared and shrank back as Cato suddenly stood up with a venomous glare.

"How the _fuck _is this _okay_?! How the fuck is losing someone you care for _ever _okay!? What is this bullshit!? Now I've lost someone _twice_ because of these games and I couldn't save them!" Cato punched the wall of the structure creating a dent.

He slouched and hung his head. Somewhere through his outburst Lane had cried for him. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around his large form going around his waist. Cato made no move to return the hug, he simple stood there. Lane understood though, even if she was slightly hurt that he wouldn't react he was too tired to protest. She had been wanting to be in his arms for the longest time, and she realized that this was probably going to be as good as it was ever going to get. Lane suddenly felt his breath in her hair when he spoke.

"When will it end…?" he whispered in a broken voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the victors of this year's 74th Annual Hunger Games…the starcrossed-lovers from District 2 and 7, Cato Perris and Lane Freemont!"

Cato's head snapped up, _WHAT?!_

* * *

"WHAT?!" Katniss shrieked bolting straight up from the couch that she was previously sitting on.

_Oh shit, _Finnick thought as he stared at the screen with wide eyes.

* * *

AN: I guess I _was _able to update before next week. It's only because I was sick today and didn't go to school :P. Be grateful! I had a headache while writing this so it's not exactly my best work, but I hope you guys still like it :). You guys excited though? Just one more chapter and then…the most awaited reunion in all of Panem. Thank you guys SO MUCH for the reviews! It's part of the reason why I felt the need to update today despite my condition. Coming back to a bunch of amazing reviews definitely motivated me! You guys are awesome! :))

Til next time.

~Alis-May

* * *

**Big thanks to - **TheHungerGamesFan11, sunayna4sho, HeyoMyFellowReaders101, xxPaige23xx, and jennyiscool34.

* * *

_**Review Corner**_

**abugsaunt: **Thanks! I nearly cried myself when I was writing it haha.

**sundragons9: **Thank you! and Oooh, you caught that huh? ;)

**Bellanator116: **Glad to hear that! :) and don't worry the reunion is coming up _real _soon.

**Strawberryluv: **Can I just say that you are one of my favorite reviewers? :') I love the feedback that you give on my chapters, thank you! And I know, it broke my heart when I wrote her death scene. I didn't want to dwell on it too much though so I just had Cato have all the feels ahah.

**Someone (guest): **Oh why thank you! I do a happy dance when I get generous reviews like yours haha. No worries about those, I'm glad you like my story :).


	14. The Aftermath

"Katniss…please. Open up!" Finnick yelled knocking on her door.

He heard a muffled "no" in response followed by a kick to the door. He jerked away at the noise and sighed scratching the back of his head. _Great, just great. _He thought. They had an interview with Caesar Flickerman in a few hours and Katniss was still locked in her room. Finnick walked over to the minibar and poured himself a glass of scotch, _Poor girl, _he thought as he remembered the events of last night. It was the finale of the Hunger Games…

"…_Star-crossed lovers from District 2 and 7, Cato…Lane!"_

"WHAT_?!" Katniss screamed. _

_Finnick's jaw dropped as he watched Cato and the other victor being loaded onto the hovercraft that would take them out of the arena. His mouth stayed slack through Caesar's commentary at the end and even when the monitor changed shows. He only snapped out of his trance when he heard a crash come from next to him._

"_Katniss!" He shouted frantically. _

_She had collapsed and managed to bring the coffee table down with her when she fell. His heart broke at the empty shock that was still apparent on her face. Her breathing sounded like she was short of breath and dry sobbing at the same time. Finnick moved to comfort her. As he wrapped his arms around her body he noticed that she was shaking as if she were cold but her skin felt hot. He grabbed a tissue that was on the end table behind them and tried to wipe the tears that had spilled on her cheeks and were dripping down her chin. _

_After some time, Katniss finally turned to look at him. What he saw then made him want to move heaven and earth for her just so that she could stop looking at him that way. Her face was one of someone that had just lost everything. Her eyebrows were bunched together, her eyes shined with freshly fallen tears, and her bottom lip was quivering like mad. All of a sudden her face changed. It began to scrunch up and she let out a heart wrenching sob, and let herself lean on him completely._

"_Oh Katniss…shh it's okay. Its okay, I'm here." Finnick said quietly trying to soothe her. _

_He rubbed her back comfortingly as she cried. He felt her start to lean over as the intensity of her cries increased. She was sobbing so hard that no sound came out. Only when she took in a ragged breath did she make a sound and even that sounded painful._

Finnick took another big gulp of the scotch and felt the burning sensation trickle down his throat. He walked over to the dinner table and silently began to pick up all the knives that were set out. He didn't want Katniss to hurt herself if she had another episode. She had tried to kill herself that night when he left to use the bathroom. Her pleas echoed in his brain.

"_Finnick, please! Let me do this!" she had yelled trying to grab the knife from him. _

"_No Katniss STOP!" he fought back, kicking the knife a good distance away. Katniss fell to her knees and Finnick followed suit since he was restraining her wrists. She looked up at him with a half-crazed expression on her face._

"_Please…it hurts…I just, I want the pain to end…" She begged softly crying again. He let out a deep breath and cradled her in his arms for the second time that night. _

He didn't remember how long they stayed on the floor that night before she finally went to sleep. He just remembered carrying her to her room where she has been till now. Putting the glass down on the table he found the Avox assigned to their apartment and told her to take away anything sharp in their home. Finnick thanked her and walked towards the elevator, sparing a second glance at Katniss' door he quickly wrote her a note and left it on the table.

_Went for a swim, so call if you need anything. Be back in an hour._

_ ~Finnick_

* * *

A/N: Holy crap I haven't been on here in a while. Sooo eternally sorry! Life is just too busy, but that is definitely not an excuse to go AWOL for a long period of time. My friends managed to talk me into playing basketball for another season…hence the delays, that and AP Lang is kicking my butt. Anyways, I'll try to regulate my updates again. Sorry again for the humongous hiatus and for the short chapter when I actually update and if there are any errors (whoops, i'll go back and edit later). Thank you to those who are still reading and chose to stick with this story! :))

Til next time.

~Alis-May


	15. Welcome Back!

"Can't sleep?" Lane asked.

Cato was leaning out over the edge of the roof of the tribute building, his fingers tapping the rail absentmindedly.

"Yeah. Got a lot on my mind." He said curtly.

She nodded and stood next to him, "It's about what Brutus said isn't it?"

_You may have won kid but you're troubles aren't over. The only way to justify your winning is to keep up this star-crossed lover's charade._

"Not really…more along the lines of the fact that I won. I actually did it." Cato stated with disbelief on his face.

Lane raised an eyebrow, "You doubted yourself?"

"Not doubt, but at some points during the game I wanted so badly to give up. Especially after Clove died. If I didn't go this year, she wouldn't have went." He explained staring at his hands.

"She wanted you to win," she said looking at him, "for that girl."

Cato swallowed thickly, "I know, and I did. I just wish she were here to see it. Honestly now that the games are over I don't know to do…it was my goal for so long and now that it's done, I'm lost." He breathed in deeply trying to hold in his emotions. He wouldn't cry. Not yet.

"Well maybe it's time for a little soul searching then." She suggested lightly.

He scoffed, "A lot of good that'll do me," then much softer he added, "I lost myself a long time ago…"

Lane was taken aback by the forlorn expression on his face and remembered what Clove had told her.

"Tell me about her." She asked quietly.

"Hmm?" Cato must have spaced out.

"The girl, the one you won for?" She pressed. She felt kind of bad for calling her 'that girl' but Clove never gave her a name.

"Oh, um. What do you want to know?"

"Uhh, what was she like?" Lane vaguely remembered asking Clove the same question but she knew that her answer and his would be different.

"She's…well, she was the most amazing person." He said with reverence, "She was the exact opposite of me." His lips quirked as if he was about to smile. Again Lane wondered what it'd be like to see him wear a genuine smile that wasn't forced. She was a little jealous that the two people could actually make him were both gone.

"Dark hair with a pair of beautiful bright eyes…" He continued on wistfully. That's when she noticed that he was holding something in his hand. A pin. That was probably what he was staring at earlier.

"It's pretty." She said nodding at the pin, "She give you that?"

Cato licked his lips, "I guess…you could say that. Her brother gave it to me."

"You wore it in the games?"

His eyes glazed over the Capitol as if he wasn't really seeing the landscape in front of him but something else entirely, "I've worn it everyday since I've received it."

"I admire you, you know. It takes a lot to be so determined and dedicated. You have a strong heart. She was very lucky." Lane said earnestly.

"Thanks." Cato said quietly.

It was silent for a moment before Lane let out a deep breath, "I know this isn't how you pictured winning…and I'm sorry I put you in this situation but…"

Truth was, Cato was mad but not necessarily at her, more at the Capitol.

He sighed, "It's not your fault, the Capitol is just…" He rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation.

"Still…I mean—"

"Don't worry about it alright?" Cato cut her off. Lane nodded mutely.

He may have snapped at her but at least she knew he didn't blame her. He bit his cheeks and sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently.

"I'm going to head out now, so…I'll just…be seeing you I guess." Cato announced awkwardly and briskly walked towards the elevator.

Lane simply nodded again and stared at the city in front of her wondering if Cato and she could ever be more than what they were now.

* * *

"FINNICK! FINN!" Katniss yelled walking around the apartment. She needed help with her dress and earrings but he was nowhere to be found.

"FINN—" She started but was abruptly cut off.

"I'm here Katniss," he announced stepping out of his bathroom, "what do you need?"

She turned to face him and crossed her arms. "Where were you? What took you so long?"

Finnick raised an eyebrow, "I was in the shower…"

Katniss straightened her pose, "Oh…well, I need you," she raised her hands which were currently holding two different dresses, "which one should I wear to the interview?"

"Well…yes. So help me!" she said and pushed her dresses closer to his face.

He sighed dramatically and covered his yes with one hand, then pointing randomly he said, "That one."

Katniss didn't see to mind his theatrics. She simply nodded as if agreeing with his choice and smiled walking back to her room.

After Katniss left Finnick shook his head and ordered another glass of scotch. He seemed to be drinking a lot more recently, he mused. Just as he was putting the liquor to his lips he heard her calling for him again. He sighed again and downed the whole glass before standing up to help her.

Upon arriving to her room Finnick raised an eyebrow at the many jewelry pieces that were spread out on her bed. Katniss was absentmindedly playing with the ring around her neck staring into the endless piles of adornments deep in thought. Finnick smiled internally when he noticed that she hadn't taken it off yet.

"So which pair should I wear?" she asked after a moment. Finnick groaned and plopped down onto the only available chair in her room that wasn't occupied by jewelry. _This is going to be a long afternoon_, he thought.

"Are you sure it looks alright?" Katniss asked nervously smoothing out the invisible wrinkles on her dress.

"You look great Katniss don't worry." Finnick replied trying to soothe her. She became fussy and anxious whenever she was nervous nowadays. Ever since Snow had banned her from the training or particularly archery, she had no release for the pent up stress. So she panicked and called for him.

Katniss sighed, "I'm just making sure I don't look like a mess. It's my first time being in front of people in a while and I want to look my best…I know you're not Cinna but I just—I just need to look as if I'm not broken."

"You look beautiful…and I mean that in a completely platonic way." He said jokingly.

"Thanks." She smirked and punched him in the arm.

* * *

"Oh Finnick you have definitely not lost your sense of humor!" Caesar Flickerman said wiping a stray tear from his eye. Finnick grinned cheekily as Katniss smiled gently and roller her eyes. They were halfway through their interview time already and all they had done so far was joke around with Caesar.

After gathering his wits Caesar addressed Katniss, "As for you Miss Everdeen, you still look as radiant as ever." He said earnestly. Katniss only blushed enhancing the effect and mumbled a quiet 'thank you'.

"I'll admit I was a bit surprised when I heard that you two were already living together, how's that going for you?" he asked.

Finnick was the one to answer, "It's been great. We were both a little…nervous at first," _more like apprehensive,_ he thought, "but it all worked out for the best in the end."

"And you Katniss, what are your thoughts?" Caesar prodded.

She cleared her throat, "I couldn't agree more with Finnick. Growing up I wasn't very good at handling big changes but we felt that we were ready. I don't know what I'd do without him." Katniss said sincerely looking at Finnick. He gave her a half-smile and kissed her hand delicately.

Caesar and the crowd ate up the sweet exchange. "My, he's definitely sweet on you Girl on Fire." The couple laughed and nodded in agreement. "Alas I wish we had more time but, it appears to be the end so one last question for the road. Will you two be attending the Victor's ball? I mean I know you must be busy with settling in, but this also a very big event."

"Well it depends on Katniss' health. If she's up to it, then I don't see why not. Though I think she can handle it. She's been recovering fairly well." Finnick responded smoothly.

Caesar nodded and smiled flashing his ultra white teeth, "Well then I guess that just about sums up our time. I give you Finnick Odair and the lovely Girl on Fire, Katniss Everdeen!" he said standing up. The pair stood up as the crowd of capitolites cheered their names and clapped manically. "We'll be right back with the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Cato Perris and Lane Freemont after this break."

As Katniss stepped off the stage she let out her breath that she had been holding for the entire interview.

"Well that was better than I thought." She said.

"You were great out there." Finnick said reassuringly. "Hold on, there's someone I need to speak with. I'll meet you in the car, ok?" He squeezed her shoulder gently then walked back the way they came, jogging a bit to catch up with the person he sought out. Katniss only sighed and continued her way out the door.

Just as she left another couple had walked in along with their entourage. Cato and Lane had arrived with both of their prep teams and mentors, all bickering at them at the same time.

"Alright Brutus I got it, enough already." Cato snapped irritated. He understood that he had to act. He understood that he had to lie, even if it was through clenched teeth. He understood that he had to hide his real feelings. He understood that he was still playing a part in the games. He didn't like it, not one bit, but he understood.

"I just want things to go perfectly kid." Brutus replied not in the least bit affected by the young man's attitude. He had grown up around him. Cato only rolled his eyes. "Wait here." His mentor said. _Like I have anywhere else to go, _he thought. He scowled as his mentor walked away to talk to some sharply dressed people.

Cato hadn't realized who exactly was in the expensive attire until Lane had gasped, "It's Finnick Odair!"

That's why he had looked familiar. Back at the Academy students had to memorize all the victors starting from the very first Hunger Games and how they won. It was time consuming but it helped a little when he was in the Capitol growing up. He was aware of who was around him.

Suddenly, the mood had changed. Cato saw Finnick lean in closer as if he were about to whisper a conspiracy. Brutus' face had grown serious and his eyebrows had furrowed. Finnick gestured towards the exit door that we were next to and Brutus' eyes immediately flashed to his before looking back at the other victor. After shaking hands with Finnick he had calmly walked back almost with a lighter step.

Cato quirked an eyebrow but he simply dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "You're on in five. Good luck." Brutus said then strode off with the entourage trailing after him.

He looked down at Lane and saw that she had a puzzled yet thoughtful expression on her face. Perhaps she had suspected the same thing he did. His thoughts couldn't dwell on the matter much longer because their five minutes were up and they were being called to stand on the stage.

"As promised we are back with more interviews! Please help me welcome the star-crossed lovers from this year's Hunger Games, Cato and Lane!" Caesar announced and cheers erupted from the crowd."

Cato smirked like he was supposed to and Lane donned her best smile that she had actually tried practicing in the mirror a few times, earning a laugh from her mentor Johanna Mason.

"Welcome back you two! How does it feel to be out of the arena?" Caesar asked starting off the interview.

"Well it was definitely a life changing experience Caesar." Cato replied.

Caesar laughed, "I would bet. Though I must admit your alliance definitely made this year's games one of the most memorable. There were so many different aspects that contributed to the emotional side for most of our viewers. So without further ado, let's get on with the recaps!"

Suddenly screens appeared around the auditorium allowing everyone the ability to watch clearly. The games started off as most usually have, the bloodbath. Lane would flinch and grimace every so often at the bloodshed, even if she had lived through it she didn't exactly want to remember the details of the gore. Cato's gaze however was unwavering. As they got to Clove's speech about Katniss, he simply stared at the screen closest to them with a blank expression. Inside him though, it was chaos. He mentally thanked Clove for leaving her name out. The last thing he needed was people asking about her and being nosy.

He manages to keep a stony face all the way through until they get to Clove's death. Cato hadn't realized at the time just how close she was to the Cornucopia and how far she ran just to go back and get him. His hands fisted even tighter than what was humanely possible. _She should have won,_ he thought. He had to stop the frown that was threatening to take over his face. When they finally got to the finale he had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from screaming and pulling his hair out. To be honest, he _hated _the way the games ended and he couldn't have been happier to leave the arena behind.

The interview continued as such. Whenever a hard question came up he let Lane do the talking. When Caesar asked about their plans for the victor's ball and their future she had taken the reigns again. It was when Cato was asked directly about the girl Clove was telling Lane about, did he realize that his partner couldn't save him this time. He felt a small nudge on his arm and immediately his thoughts were brought back to the present. He didn't know that he'd spaced out for a couple of minutes.

"So the girl?" Caesar pressed.

Cato licked his lips, "She was a very important person to my past and I'm glad to have met her but I suppose it's finally time to move on." He said quickly. He felt like if he elaborated he might slip up and tell them her name or something along the lines of him still being madly in love with her.

"Ahh, well yes. You have a lovely lady sitting here beside you today that I'm sure cares for you very much." Caesar said.

Lane smiled and looked up at Cato, "That I do."

He simply looked back at her with empty eyes. He was glad when Caesar announced that the interview was over. Cato shook hands with him and walked offstage without a second backward glance and went straight to the bathroom. He splashed his face with cold water and closed his eyes.

He felt like the room was spinning out of control and his vision began to get a little hazy. Nausea was building up and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He tried to take deep calming breaths to coax the bile that had risen in his throat to go back down. He removed his hands from the counter and wiped his face with a towel before striding out of the bathroom to regroup with the others. Cato was getting tired of being understanding.

* * *

"He wants to move on…" Katniss said quietly staring out of the window of their apartment.

"Katniss—" Finnick started.

"No, you _heard _him say it. He wants to move on."

He rolled his eyes, "You could see it on his face that he was clearly lying."

She shook her head slowly disbelieving, "Maybe it's better this way. That way I won't have to worry about him, he seems to be doing just fine with Lane." She spat bitterly.

"You know you don't mean a single word you've said. Stop it Katniss. I know the look of love and trust me when I say that he doesn't wear it when he's around her. It's just the little green monster inside you talking."

"Whatever, it's too late anyways. I'm going to get ready for tonight."

Finnick furrowed his eyebrows, "But it's still early? I thought we had already planned your outfit out?"

"Oh I know, I'm picking a new one. I want to make an _impression._" Katniss drawled, "You coming?" she asked walking towards her room.

He sighed. She was going to try and get Cato's attention to show him what he'd lost. _This isn't going to end well, _Finnick thought before grabbing a quick glass of scotch and following Katniss into her closet.

* * *

A/N: Holllyyyy coooww, it has been a while but I wrote a big chappie for you guys YAY! All I can say is that I'm sorry and I'd understand if you want to stop reading. I'm a horrible person for making you wait so long for chapters. It's okay though guys, I'm killing myself through studying for my exams. Unfortunately for me I got inspired to write at the wrong time, I've had finals all this week but not to worry for tomorrow is the last day! WHOO! There's probably some mistakes in this chapter but I'll fix that when I find the time. Right now I'm about to knockout. SUPERBIGHUMONGOUSGIANT THANK YOU to everyone who is still reading and reviewing this story! :) I'll try not to disappoint you guys too much anymore, fingers crossed.

Til next time.

~Alis-May


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